Some  Recollections 


Capt  Charles  P.  Low 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Professor 
Frank  W.  Wadsworth 


^J?. 


/. 


-^ 


Some   Recolledions 

BY 


Captain  Charles  P.  Low 


Commanding  the  Clipper  Ships  "  Houqua,' 

"  Jacob  Bell,"  "  Samuel  Russell,"  and 

"N.  B.  Palmer."  in  the 

China  Trade 

1847-1873 


"  A  life  on  the  ocean  wave, 
A  home  on  the  rolling  deep" 

SECOND    EDITION 


Boston 

Geo.  H.  Ellis  Co.,  272  Congress  Street 

1906 


Copyright  by 
FRANCES  LOW   PARTRIDGE 

igos 


Gs3o 


This  book  is  dedicated  to  my  wife 
jmd  to  our  seven  children 


H42117 


SOME  RECOLLECTIONS 

BY 

CAPTAIN  CHARLES  P.  LOW 


''And  I  have  loved  thee,  Ocean!     And  my  joy 
Of  youthful  sports  was  on  thy  breast  to  be 
Borne,  like  thy  bubbles,  onward :  from  a  boy 
I  wanton'd  with  thy  breakers, 

And  trusted  to  thy  billows  far  and  near. 
And  laid  my  hand  upon  thy  mane." 

Byron. 

Over  and  over  again  have  I  been  asked  by  my  relatives 
to  write  the  story  of  my  life,  and  once  or  twice  I  have 
begun  it;  but  it  seemed  so  egotistical  to  tell  of  one's  own 
exploits!  And,  then,  it  is  so  very  tedious  to  write  an 
experience  of  many  years  that  I  gave  it  up,  not  feeling  equal 
to  the  task;  but  having  at  the  present  time  a  great  deal 
of  leisure,  and  being  pressed  to  do  it  by  my  family,  I  have 
concluded  on  this  first  day  of  the  New  Year,  1903,  to  start 
in  and  try  what  I  can  do.  As  these  papers  are  not  for 
publication,  but  only  to  interest  my  nearest  relatives,  I 
feel  less  embarrassment  in  writing  than  I  should  if  they 
were  to  go  before  the  public.  Of  course,  I  have  to  trust 
a  great  deal  to  memory,  and  do  not  vouch  for  the  truth  of 
the  several  dates  of  what  happened  in  the  period  of  my 
boyhood. 


2 

I  was  born  somewhere  in  Salem,  Mass.,  on  the  nine- 
teenth day  of  September,  in  the  year  1824.  This  I  pre- 
sume is  correct,  for  it  so  appears  in  the  genealogical  records 
of  the  Low  family.  I  have  no  doubt  I  was  the  finest  baby 
ever  born,  for  I  never  knew  one  that  was  not;  and  I  grew 
as  other  boys  do,  with  the  exception  that  I  was,  at  a  very 
early  age,  inclined  to  seek  salt  water.  My  mother  told  me 
that  as  soon  as  I  could  crawl  I  went  for  it,  and  I  remember 
as  far  back  as  I  remember  anything  that  to  be  on  and  in 
the  water  was  my  supreme  delight.  When  I  was  four 
years  old,  my  father  removed  with  his  family  to  Brooklyn, 
N.Y.  That  was  in  1828,  and  Brooklyn  was  a  village, 
and  more  like  a  big  farm-yard;  for  the  pigs  ran  about 
the  streets  in  large  numbers. 

My  life  has  been  a  chapter  of  accidents.  The  first  one 
occurred  soon  after  we  settled  in  our  new  home.  I  cannot 
say  when,  but  I  was  not  over  five  years  old.  I  was  plaguing 
the  cook  one  Saturday  afternoon  while  she  was  washing 
the  kitchen  floor,  and  while  she  was  chasing  me  I  fell  on 
the  slippery  floor,  and  broke  my  left  arm  half-way  between 
the  wrist  and  the  elbow.  I  probably  suffered  very  much 
but  I  do  not  remember  anytliing  about  it;  and  for  a  few 
years  afterwards  my  memory  fails  to  find  anything  re- 
markable to  relate.  I  went  to  an  infant  school,  and  I 
presume  I  bent  pins  and  set  them  in  the  teacher's  chair 
and  in  the  scholars'  chairs  when  I  could  get  a  chance; 
and  I  delighted  in  mischief.  I  am  quite  sure  I  was  looked 
upon  as  a  bad  boy;  and  if  mischief  or  love  of  fun  stands 
for  Satan,  I  was  one  of  his  favorites. 

I  do  not  remember  how  long  I  continued  in  the  infant 
school;  but  a  few  years  after  we  moved  to  Brooklyn  my 
father  and  Mr.  Howard  built  two  blocks  of  houses — four- 
story  brick  houses,  two  in  a  block — on  Concord  Street, 


corner  of  Washington, — a  splendid  situation  in  those  days, 
and,  I  think,  the  highest  ground  in  the  city.  My  father 
and  Mr.  Howard  then  built  on  Washington  Street,  in 
the  rear  of  the  houses,  a  large  school-house  which  they 
named  the  Classical  Hall;  and  soon  after  we  moved  into 
the  new  home,  Mr.  Eames  and  Mr.  Putnam  were  called 
from  Salem,  Mass.,  to  take  charge  of  the  school.  The 
upper  hall  Mr.  Eames  occupied,  and  it  was  soon  filled  with 
the  best  young  men  of  Brookl}Ti.  Mr.  Putnam  taught  the 
juveniles  in  the  lower  room,  and  altogether  it  made  a  large 
school  and  the  best  in  the  city.  I  went  to  Mr.  Putnam's 
division. 

On  Adams  Street,  near  Concord  was  a  public  school, 
which  was  a  large  one,  and  I  think  the  only  one  in  Brook- 
lyn at  that  time.  On  Henry  Street,  near  Pineapple  Street, 
Mr.  Hegeman  had  a  large  private  school.  A  very  good 
class  of  boys  attended,  almost  as  many  as  attended  the 
Classical  Hall.  It  had  a  belfry  with  a  large  bell  which 
could  be  heard  at  a  long  distance,  and  which  served  to  call 
the  three  schools  to  their  studies.  I  remember  the  bell, 
for  four  or  five  of  us  one  bitter  cold  night  got  up  in  the 
belfry  and  upset  the  bell,  making  it  fast  with  the  mouth 
up,  and  filled  it  half  full  of  water  which  froze  solid  before 
morning;  and  it  was  very  late  the  next  morning  when  it 
rung  again. 

The  public  school  and  Hegeman's  school  united  to- 
gether to  whip  the  boys  in  our  school,  and  many  were  the 
fights  with  snowballs  in  winter  and  hand-to-hand  contests 
in  the  summer.  I  remember  one  snowball  fight  which 
began  at  half-past  twelve  at  the  noon  recess,  with  the  boys 
of  Hegeman's  school,  who  attacked  us  on  the  corner  of 
Washington  and  Concord  Streets.  The  snowballs  fell 
thick  and  fast  till  one  o'clock,  when  Mr.  Eames  and  Mr, 


Putnam,  bell  in  hand,  stood  in  front  of  our  school  to  call 
us  in.  We  were  backing  down  to  answer  the  bell,  when 
one  of  the  enemy  fired  a  hard  snowball,  wliich  struck  Mr. 
Putnam  in  the  forehead  and  knocked  him  down.  Seeing 
this,  our  boys  made  a  rush,  and  chased  our  enemies  through 
Concord  Street  to  Pineapple,  and  did  not  stop  till  they  all 
took  refuge  in  their  school  in  Henry  Street.  We  then 
pelted  the  school-house  till  half-past  one,  when  we  returned 
to  our  own  school  and  had  a  lecture  from  Mr.  Eames. 
Mr.  Putnam  had  recovered  from  the  blow  but  had  quite 
a  lump  on  his  forehead. 

Numberless  were  the  fights  we  had  with  the  two  schools, 
and  also  the  individual  scrimmages.  I  will  only  mention 
one,  which  caused  me  to  be  laid  up  two  months  or  more 
with  my  right  arm  broken.  We  generally  stayed  on  our 
playground  after  school,  as  we  had  a  gymnasium  there 
and  were  all  fond  of  exercise.  Many  of  the  boys  of  the 
public  school  came  every  day  to  see  us  and  were  always 
ready  for  a  fight.  A  boy  about  my  own  age  and  size  took 
particular  pains  to  get  up  a  fight  with  me,  and  about  once 
a  week  we  had  a  set  to,  generally  ending  in  a  draw.  After 
a  number  of  fights  he  found  he  could  not  whip  me.  About 
this  time  I  had  a  pair  of  stilts.  The  steps  were  six  feet 
from  the  ground.  I  was  walking  on  them  in  Washington 
Street,  and  not  suspecting  any  trouble,  when  this  boy 
came  up  behind  me  and  tripped  me  up.  I  fell  flat,  with 
my  right  arm  under  the  stilt,  breaking  it  just  below  the 
elbow.  I  was  carried  home,  and  the  doctor  set  the  arm; 
but  it  was  a  long  time  before  it  was  strong  again.  My 
father  had  the  stilts  broken  up  for  kindling  wood.  I  never 
saw  that  boy  afterwards. 

When  I  was  twelve  years  old,  I  fell  in  love  with  a  very 
pretty  girl,  and  I  proposed  to  her  to  be  my  wife  and  she 


accepted  me;  but  her  parents  shortly  after  moved  to  New 
York  and  that  was  the  last  I  ever  saw  of  her. 

At  this  early  age  I  was  bound  to  go  to  sea,  and  I  went 
to  New  York  and  got  a  berth  on  board  of  a  brig  bound  to 
Savannah.  Another  boy  went  with  me  and  meant  to 
sail  with  me,  but  he  backed  out  and  so  did  I.  I  was  very 
sorry,  for  I  was  passionately  fond  of  the  sea;  and  if  I  could 
only  get  something  to  float  on  I  was  happy.  Even  in 
winter  I  have  been  to  Gowanus  Bay  and  got  on  a  cake 
of  ice  and  paddled  around. 

Mr.  Putnam's  school  had  on  one  side  a  small  room  used 
for  a  hat-room.  Mr.  Putnam  used  this  as  a  lockup  for 
bad  boys  during  lunch  time.  The  outside  door  was  a 
large  one  with  a  narrow  window  on  each  side.  The  lock 
of  the  door  went  into  a  hasp  which  was  screwed  on  to  the 
side  next  to  the  door.  One  day  I  was  locked  up  to  go 
without  my  lunch;  but  I  had  a  pocket  knife  with  the  big 
blade  broken  off,  and  I  made  it  into  a  screw-driver,  and 
as  soon  as  the  teachers  were  gone  I  unscrewed  the  hasp 
over  the  lock  and  went  home  to  lunch.  After  lunch  I 
came  back  and  screwed  on  the  hasp,  and  no  one  was  the 
wiser.  Hardly  a  day  passed  but  one  or  more  boys  were 
locked  up,  and  as  soon  as  the  coast  was  clear  of  the 
teachers  I  would  hand  my  knife  in  through  one  of  the 
small  panes  of  glass  which  I  had  broken  (by  accident,  of 
course),  and  the  prisoners  released  themselves  and  went 
home  to  lunch.  I  carried  this  on  for  a  long  time,  till  one 
day  a  boy  got  out  and  did  not  come  back,  and  the  scheme 
was  made  known  by  one  of  the  good  boys  and  I  got  a 
good  scolding. 

A  few  months  after  this  I  was  sent  to  Mr.  Marsh,  who 
opened  a  classical  school  in  a  dwelling-house  on  Willow 
Street,  near  Pierrepont  Street.     He  had  a  select  number 


6 

of  scholars,  I  think  about  twenty  all  told.  Many  of  them 
were  much  older  than  myself.  At  that  time  the  Heights 
were  all  bare  and  very  steep  down  to  the  water's  edge, 
with  trees  growing  on  the  side.  On  the  top  of  the  Heights 
there  was  a  long,  low  building,  said  to  have  been  Wash- 
ington's headquarters,  then  occupied  as  an  orphans' 
school,  and  there  were  a  hard  set  of  boys  attending  it. 
Of  course,  our  school  must  have  a  fight  with  them.  One 
day  we  were  at  it,  and  I  was  standing  on  the  edge  of  the 
bank,  when  one  of  them  threw  a  stone  which  struck  me 
on  the  top  of  the  head,  cutting  a  deep  gash,  and  I  fell  over 
and  down  the  bank  some  twenty  feet,  fetching  up  against 
a  tree.  I  was  picked  up  and  carried  home  in  a  carriage, 
and  was  laid  up  some  weeks.  I  finished  my  education  at 
Mr.  Marsh's  school,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  had  to  go 
to  work. 

My  father  got  me  a  situation  with  Gideon  Frost,  a 
wholesale  jobber  of  dry  goods,  nothing  to  be  paid  me  the 
first  year,  and  fifty  dollars  the  second  year.  There  were 
employed  besides  myself  two  salesmen,  Horace  Seaver  and 
John  Hovey.  Seaver  always  stayed  in  the  store  and  was  a 
very  mild,  gentlemanly  sort  of  a  fellow  and  a  good  sales- 
man. John  Hovey  was  a  rough  diamond.  He  lived  at 
the  hotels,  and  picked  up  the  Western  merchants,  dined 
them,  took  them  to  the  theatre  and  showed  them  about 
the  city,  and  then  sold  them  a  large  bill  of  goods.  This 
way  of  doing  business  was  carried  on  by  all  the  jobbing 
houses.  Then  there  was  one  young  man  of  about  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  years,  William  Shumacher,  Leonard  Frost, 
son  of  Gideon,  a  young  fellow  called  Woodruff,  and  my- 
self. The  last  three  were  about  of  an  age;  but  though 
we  were  only  fourteen  years  old  we  had  to  do  a  man's 
work,  and  hard  work  it  was,  especially  in  the  busy  season. 


when  we  were  kept  at  work  from  six  a.m.  till  eight  p.m., 
and  very  often  till  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  we  lay 
down  on  the  counters  till  daylight.  We  were  allowed  a 
shilling  (twelve  and  a  half  cents)  for  our  meals,  when  so 
kept  from  our  homes. 

Pearl  Street  and  Maiden  Lane  were  then  the  great 
dry-goods  streets,  and  all  the  clerks  vied  with  one  another 
to  make  the  greatest  show  of  packed  boxes  on  the  side- 
walk in  the  morning.  Marking  them  was  quite  an  art, 
and  the  clerk  Shumacher  was  an  adept  at  it.  The  letters 
were  always  six  inches  long  and  made  a  great  show. 
After  some  practice  I  could  mark  the  boxes  as  well  as 
any  one  and  I  took  great  pride  in  it. 

During  the  first  year  I  was  with  Gideon  there  were  fires 
constantly  following  the  great  fire  in  1835,  and  almost 
every  night  I  went  over  with  Gideon  to  the  store  to  see 
if  everything  was  safe.  If  the  fire  was  nowhere  near  the 
store,  he  would  go  home,  and  I  would  dodge  away  from 
him  and  go  to  the  fire.  Though  I  was  so  young  I  was 
torch  boy  to  Live  Oak  Engine  No.  8  in  Brooklyn.  At 
that  time  New  York  and  Brooklyn  engines  had  their 
partners,  and  a  fire  in  New  York  sent  the  Brooklyn  engines 
to  help  there,  and  a  fire  in  Brooklyn  brought  the  New 
York  engines  over  to  help  us.  My  brothers  Edward  and 
William  were  members  of  No.  8,  and  there  was  hardly  a 
night  but  there  was  a  fire  in  one  city  or  the  other.  I  was 
not  allowed  to  go  to  a  fire  at  night  by  my  parents,  so  I  got 
a  long  rope  which  I  hid  in  my  room,  and  after  my  brothers 
had  gone  out,  I  used  to  tie  it  to  a  trunk  in  the  back  entry 
and  let  it  down  to  the  roof  of  the  veranda  which  was  two 
stories  down.  Then  I  slid  down,  and  from  the  veranda 
got  on  to  a  grape-vine  arbor,  from  there  to  the  ground 
and  off  to  the  fire.     I  always  came  home  with  my  brothers 


8 

and  got  to  my  room  without  being  seen.  It  was  very 
exciting  living  in  those  days.  The  companies  were  all 
volunteer  firemen  and  the  engines  were  old-fashioned, 
worked  by  hand;  and  it  was  hard  work  too,  as  fires  were 
so  frequent.  The  members  of  the  different  companies 
were  almost  every  evening  near  the  engine-houses,  and 
if  there  was  no  fire  the  torch  boys  were  sent  out  and 
stationed  some  way  apart.  The  one  nearest  the  engine 
would  start  by  halloing  as  loud  as  possible,  "Hi!  Hi!" 
The  next  would  hallo,  "Fire!"  and  soon  the  alarm  would 
be  spread  and  the  engines  would  rush  for  one  of  the  widest 
streets  to  have  a  race.  Very  often  it  ended  in  a  free  fight. 
Before  I  went  to  sea,  my  brothers  and  myself  joined  engine 
company  No.  9,  called  the  "Silk  Stocking  Company," 
because  the  members  were  all  of  the  first  families  of 
Brooklyn.  They  were  smart,  too,  and  were  almost  always 
the  first  at  a  fire. 

But  to  return  to  my  dry-goods  store.  After  the  busy 
season  was  over  we  had  a  good  deal  of  leisure.  Gideon 
Frost,  our  employer,  was  a  good  Quaker,  and  every  Thurs- 
day went  to  meeting  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  His 
son  Leonard  and  Woodruff  and  myself  would  then  dodge 
out  and  go  to  the  wharves  and  on  board  ships,  and  climb 
over  the  rigging,  amusing  ourselves  by  jumping  on  the 
cotton  bales  that  were  piled  up  for  shipment.  I  would 
go  to  the  masthead  of  the  ships,  but  I  could  not  get  the 
other  boys  above  the  topmasthead.  We  always  managed 
to  get  back  before  meeting  was  over. 

The  most  tedious  work  I  had  was  when  the  remittances 
came  in  from  the  South  and  West.  The  merchants  there 
sent  through  the  mails  bank  bills  cut  in  half,  one  half 
by  one  mail  and  the  other  half  the  next  day;  and  it  seemed 
as  though  they  delighted  in  sending  small  bills, — ones, 


9 

twos,  and  fives.  T  had  a  table  with  a  box  of  paste  and 
sheets  of  tissue  paper  cut  in  strips,  and  I  had  to  match 
the  bills  and  paste  them  together  with  these  strips  of  tissue 
paper.  It  had  to  be  done  very  nicely,  and  it  was  tiresome 
work,  and  I  was  always  glad  when  it  was  over. 

I  stayed  with  Gitleon  one  year,  and  expected  to  have 
fifty  dollars  the  second  year ;  but  after  the  first  month  had 
gone  he  failed,  and  all  I  received  for  thirteen  months'  work 
was  about  thirty  dollars  worth  of  cloth,  which  I  had 
from  store  for  clothes. 

I  was  now  out  of  a  situation,  and  my  father  took  me 
as  clerk  in  his  store.  He  was  a  wholesale  commission 
merchant  in  African  and  South  American  goods, — gum 
copal,  shellac,  myrrh,  aloes,  peppers,  and  so  forth.  The 
store  was  in  Fletcher  Street,  just  back  of  the  dry-goods 
store  of  Gideon  Frost,  which  ran  through  from  Maiden 
Lane.  Just  opposite  was  a  sailors'  boarding-house;  and 
I  spent  a  good  deal  of  my  leisure  time  with  the  sailors, 
who  taught  me  to  splice  and  make  knots,  box  the  compass, 
and  many  other  things  which  were  a  great  help  to  me  when 
I  went  to  sea. 

Many  of  the  goods  that  came  to  us  were  very  heavy, 
and  many  were  very  hard  to  handle,  especially  the  assa- 
foetida  cases,  which  smelt  horribly.  We  had  to  have 
eight  to  twelve  negroes  at  work  getting  these  cases  in  and 
hoisted  one,  two,  three,  and  four  stories,  and  I  had  the 
ordering  of  them.  I  never  hired  a  man  who  could  not 
sing  well;  and  it  was  great  fun,  when  they  were  hoisting, 
to  hear  them  sing.  You  could  have  heard  them  a  block 
away.  The  men  all  liked  to  work  for  me  except  when 
we  had  a  thousand  or  more  bags  of  bird  peppers  (small  red 
peppers).  The  dust  from  them  was  something  terrible, 
and  after  working  an  hour  or  so,  the  men  would  begin  to 


10 

sneeze  and  go  on  sneezing  till  they  vomited.  Sometimes 
I  had  to  have  a  dozen  different  gangs  before  the  job  was 
finished. 

I  liked  my  work  very  much,  but  all  the  time  I  was 
planning  to  get  to  sea.  My  uncle  James  commanded 
the  ship  Cabot,  and  he  had  a  Dutchman  for  a  mate,  whom 
he  had  brought  up  from  a  boy.  He  was  called  Jan  Jansen 
or  John  Jolinson,  and  he  was  a  very  smart  seaman.  He 
took  a  great  fancy  to  me,  and  I  spent  all  the  time  I  could 
get  when  he  was  in  port  aboard  his  ship.  He  taught  me 
much  in  the  way  of  seamanship.  The  most  important 
thing,  which  helped  me  more  than  anything  else  on  my 
first  voyage,  was  how  to  send  down  a  royal  yard.  I 
learned  from  him  all  the  running  rigging;  and,  as  it  is  the 
same  on  all  ships,  I  was  a  good  sailor  and  I  knew  just 
where  to  find  a  rope  when  I  first  went  to  sea. 

When  I  was  about  sixteen  years  old,  I  met  with  an 
accident  in  which  I  narrowly  escaped  being  killed.  I  was 
shipping  clerk  as  well  as  receiving  clerk  in  my  father's 
store;  and  one  hot  day  in  July  I  had  to  go  down  to  a 
schooner  just  arrived  from  Salem  with  a  load  of  gum 
copal.  Some  twenty-five  cases  were  to  be  transhipped, 
and  I  was  to  take  off  the  weights  and  mark  the  cases  for 
their  new  destination.  It  was  noon  and  the  carman  was 
feeding  his  horses,  and  I  was  waiting  to  ride  down  with 
him,  as  it  was  nearly  a  mile  from  the  store  to  the  place 
where  the  schooner  lay  discharging.  The  horse  and  cart 
were  at  the  corner  of  Fletcher  and  Pearl  Streets,  facing 
the  East  River.  The  driver  was  around  the  corner  at  a 
dry-goods  store.  I  sat  on  the  cart,  singing,  "  Old  Low ! 
Old  Low's  son !  Never  saw  so  many  Lows  since  the  world 
begun."  Whether  my  musical  voice  pleased  the  horse  or 
scared  him  I  cannot  say,  but  he  started  off.     I  jumped  up 


11 

and  took  the  reins,  and  said  if  he  was  ready  I  was,  intend- 
ing to  drive  him  around  to  the  dry-goods  store  and  get  the 
driver.  The  horse  turned  short  around  into  Pearl  Street, 
and  headed  up  the  wrong  way  and  I  could  not  turn  him 
an  inch.  He  started  on  a  run,  and  the  more  I  hauled  on 
the  lines  the  faster  he  went.  Now  the  cart  was  one  of  the 
old-fashioned  two- wheelers,  and  very  heavy.  In  the  front 
was  a  stationary  rung  to  tie  the  reins  to,  called  the  monitor. 
I  found  out  that  the  horse  was  running  away.  It  being  the 
noon  hour,  the  street  was  clear  of  vehicles;  and  I  thought 
as  long  as  the  horse  kept  straight  on  I  could  hold  on  fast 
enough,  but  he  turned  around  into  Piatt  Street,  and  so 
suddenly  that  he  upset  the  cart  and  fell  himself.  The 
monitor  broke,  and  the  horse  stopped  just  long  enough 
for  me  to  fall  on  the  pavement.  One  leg  went  under  one 
wheel  and  my  head  under  the  other,  and  then  the  horse 
recovered  himself  and  started  again.  Why  my  head  was 
not  smashed  no  one  could  tell,  but  the  skin  was  taken 
off  my  left  ear,  and  on  the  right  side  of  my  head  there 
was  a  lump  as  big  as  a  hen's  egg,  and  my  ankle  was  dis- 
located and  badly  mashed.  Both  wheels  had  gone  over 
me.  They  picked  me  up  for  dead  and  carried  me  into  a 
store  on  the  comer.  I  was  insensible  and  did  not  come 
to  till  I  was  placed  in  a  carriage,  and  found  my  father  and 
brother  Josiah  with  me,  on  the  way  to  Brooklyn.  It  was 
a  long  and  painful  experience  for  many  weeks.  I  could 
only  lie  on  my  back  and  suffer,  and  it  was  six  months 
before  I  was  able  to  walk  without  a  crutch;  but  I  recovered, 
and  went  back  to  the  store  again  and  went  to  work  on  new 
plans  for  going  to  sea. 

I  subscribed  to  Judd's  Agriculturist  and  studied  farming, 
intending  to  go  on  a  farm  and  make  a  little  money  to  buy 
a  sailor's  outfit,  and  then  run  away  to  sea;  but  I  did   not 


fe 


12 

like  the  runaway  business,  and  so  I  told  my  brother  what 
my  object  was  in  trying  a  farmer's  life,  and  I  knew  he 
would  tell  my  father  and  mother.  And  so  he  did.  About 
this  time  my  brother  Abbot  came  home  from  China,  and 
he  objected  very  much  to  my  going  to  sea,  and  my  father 
offered  to  take  me  into  partnership  when  I  was  twenty. 
What  my  life  would  have  been  if  I  had  accepted  his  offer 
I  cannot  say,  but  I  refused  it.  I  could  not  give  up  the  sea. 
I  loved  it  and  I  was  sure  I  should  be  unhappy  on  shore. 
At  any  rate  I  felt  I  must  try  it. 

Before  I  forget  it  I  must  tell  of  a  laughable  accident 
I  met  with.  I  had  a  great  friend  named  Pardon  Taylor. 
We  were  always  together.  We  went  over  to  the  city  to- 
gether and  came  home  together,  and  spent  our  evenings 
with  one  another.  He  was  in  a  wholesale  grocery  store 
on  Front  Street,  and  when  his  store  closed  before  mine 
he  came  and  waited  for  me,  and  vice  versa.  On  this 
particular  day  in  the  month  of  August,  I  got  through  first 
and  went  down  to  his  store.  He  was  in  a  quandary,  for 
his  employer  wished  him  to  take  a  horse  over  to  Brooklyn, 
and  he  had  an  engagement  up  town.  Well,  I  never  had 
been  on  a  horse's  back,  but  I  offered  to  take  the  horse 
home  for  him.  As  I  said,  it  was  in  August  and  very  hot 
weather,  and  I  was  dressed  in  white  jacket  and  trousers. 
I  mounted  the  horse  and  went  along  Front  Street  till  I 
came  to  Wall  Street.  Here  the  street  was  very  wide  and 
filled  with  auctioneers  who  sold  whole  cargoes  of  teas, 
sugar,  and  molasses.  On  this  special  day  the  hogsheads  of 
molasses  were  stretched  nearly  across  the  street,  and  the 
molasses  was  streaming  from  the  bungholes.  As  I  passed 
one  of  the  outer  hogsheads,  I  suppose  I  pulled  the  rein  too 
hard  to  turn  the  horse.  At  any  rate,  he  sidled  up  against 
the  hogshead  and  I  slipped  off  right  on  top  of  the  bung- 


13 

hole.  Well,  I  was  in  a  nice  mess,  with  the  seat  of  my 
trousers  covered  with  molasses;  but  there  was  no  help 
for  it,  and  I  got  on  the  horse  again  and  steered  for  Fulton 
Ferry.  I  got  safely  on  the  ferry-boat,  but  I  did  not  get 
off  the  horse.  It  was  getting  dark  when  I  rode  up  to  the 
merchant's  house,  so  I  felt  a  little  more  comfortable;  but 
I  was  a  little  doubtful  about  getting  off  the  horse,  for  fear 
he  would  run  away.  So  I  hauled  up  to  a  street  lamp-post 
and  jumped  for  it,  and  thus  slid  down  to  the  sidewalk, 
tied  the  horse  and  mformed  the  people  in  the  house  that 
I  had  brought  the  horse  from  New  York.  Then  I  left  in 
a  hurry.  When  1  got  home  and  told  my  story,  I  thought 
my  brothers  and  sisters  would  die  of  laugliing,  but  I  soon 
had  a  wash  and  clean  clothes  on  and  was  ready  for  another 
lark.  However,  I  told  my  friend  that  when  there  was 
another  horse  to  go  over  the  river  he  would  have  to  take 
it  himself. 

I  will  now  leave  the  liistory  of  my  boyhood.  We  had 
lots  of  fun  and  never  did  anything  that  was  really  wicked, 
but  we  created  a  good  deal  of  talk  about  the  bad  boys  of 
Brooklyn.  To  sum  all  up,  a  young  lady  that  I  was  in 
love  with  told  me,  when  I  came  back  from  my  first  voyage, 
that  the  city  dismissed  a  third  of  the  constables  after  I 
went  to  sea. 

My  brother  Abbot  came  home  from  China  with  quite  a 
good-sized  fortune,  thinking  he  did  not  care  to  continue 
in  business;  but  he  hired  an  office  where  he  could  write 
letters  and  look  after  his  affairs,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
he  took  my  brother  Edward  and  then  my  brother  Josiah 
into  his  employ,  and  began  his  new  career  in  the  China 
trade.  After  his  marriage  with  Miss  Ellen  Dow,  in  March, 
1841,  he  built  a  topsail  schooner  called  the  Mazeppa,  one 
of  the  handsomest  vessels  of  the  kind  I  ever  saw,  destined 


14 

for  the  East  India  and  China  trade.  My  brothers  went 
down  to  Sandy  Hook  when  she  sailed  and  took  me  with 
them.  Just  before  the  steam  tug  cast  off,  I  got  into  one 
of  the  bread  lockers  in  hopes  they  would  not  miss  me,  and 
thus  I  could  get  away  to  sea;  but  they  were  on  the  watch 
for  me  and  my  brother  Josiah  set  the  captain  and  mate 
after  me,  who  soon  found  me  half  suffocated,  and  sent  me 
on  board  the  tug.  But  this  attempt,  and  the  story  my 
brothers  told  my  parents  about  my  plan  of  going  on  a 
farm  and  about  my  running  away,  had  its  effect  upon  them, 
and  they  realized  that  I  must  go  to  sea  and  try  it.  But 
it  was  some  time  yet  before  my  wishes  were  gratified. 

In  the  mean  time  I  was  making  myself  ready.  By  daily 
visits  to  ships  and  talking  to  the  sailors  in  the  boarding- 
house  opposite  I  learned  a  great  deal,  and  later  on  I  went 
to  a  navigation  school  and  studied  navigation  under  an 
old  sea  captain. 

In  May,  1842,  my  brother  William  married  Miss  Bedell 
of  Brooklyn,  and  it  was  understood  that  in  the  fall  they 
were  to  go  to  China.  So  about  the  middle  of  October 
they  engaged  passage  in  the  Horatio,  Captain  Rowland, 
master,  and,  what  was  better  than  that,  my  brother  Abbot 
secured  a  berth  for  me  as  boy  on  board  the  same  ship. 
After  he  had  secured  it,  he  wanted  to  know  how  I  was 
going  to  make  a  living,  as  boys  had  no  wages.  I  im- 
mediately replied,  "As  soon  as  the  voyage  is  over,  I  will 
ship  again."  My  brother  William  told  me  I  need  not  be 
afraid  of  starving,  he  would  see  me  all  right.  My  father 
gave  me  fifty  dollars  and  a  sailor's  outfit,  which  cost  about 
thirty  dollars  more,  and  my  freedom;  that  is,  I  was  not  to 
depend  on  him  any  further,  but  make  my  own  way  in  the 
world. 

The  fifth  day  of  November,  1842,  was  the  day  set  for 


15 

sailing  and  I  could  hardly  wait,  I  was  so  anxious  to  be 
off.  At  ten  o'clock  a.m.  the  tug  came  alongside,  and  my 
brothers  and  sisters  and  some  six  or  eight  of  the  Bedell 
girls,  sisters  of  my  brother  William's  wife,  went  do\\Ti  to 
Sandy  Hook  to  see  us  off.  The  day  was  pleasant,  and 
we  had  a  good  start.  After  leaving  the  pilot  and  guests 
we  were  kept  hard  at  work  stowing  the  anchors  and  getting 
sail  on  the  ship.  It  being  a  fair  wind  we  did  not  stop 
work  till  all  the  studding-sails  were  set  and  we  were  nearly 
out  of  sight  of  land.  After  the  decks  were  cleared  up  all 
hands  were  called  aft  and  the  watches  chosen.  We  had 
for  officers:  Captain  Rowland;  first  mate,  Mr.  Wood; 
second  mate,  Mr.  Howard;  third  mate,  Mr.  Jennings. 
The  first  mate  was  a  short,  well-built  man  and  a  good 
sailor  and  officer.  The  second  mate  was  a  taller  and 
larger  man,  and  a  very  smart  man  in  every  way,  but  he 
was  the  most  profane  man  I  ever  met.  Mr.  Jennings, 
the  third  mate,  was  an  active,  good-natured  fellow  and 
understood  his  work.  In  fact  they  were  all  about  as 
well  fitted  for  their  positions  as  I  have  ever  known  men  to 
be.  The  watches  were  chosen  by  the  first  and  second 
mates.  One  chooses  a  man,  and  then  the  other  chooses, 
till  the  crew  are  equally  divided.  The  captain  then  ad- 
dresses the  men,  telling  them  he  ex-pects  them  to  be  quick 
at  a  call  and  to  do  their  duty  at  all  times,  and  that  if  they 
do,  they  will  be  well  fed  and  have  a  pleasant  voyage,  but 
if  they  do  not,  they  will  have  a  rough  time  of  it.  At  six  p.m. 
the  captain's  watch  went  below,  ready  to  turn  out  at  eight 
P.M.  and  stay  on  deck  till  midnight.  The  rule  on  board 
ship  is  for  the  captain  to  take  the  ship  out,  and  the  mate  to 
bring  her  home;  that  is,  the  captain's  watch,  which  is 
looked  out  for  by  the  second  mate,  has  the  first  eight  hours 
on  deck, — that  is,  from  eight  to  twelve  p.m.  and  from  four 


16 

to  eight  A.M.  And,  coming  home,  the  mate's  watch  has 
the  same  time  the  first  night  out. 

The  sailmaker  and  carpenter  and  we  four  boys  had 
bunks  in  the  between-decks,  just  forward  of  the  cabin. 
The  men  all  slept  forward  in  the  forecastle.  The  ship 
not  being  full  of  cargo,  there  was  plenty  of  room.  The 
sailmaker  and  carpenter  both  worked  down  m  the  between- 
decks.  Our  cargo  consisted  of  two  or  three  hundred 
tons  of  pig  lead,  lumber,  and  cotton  goods,  which  filled 
up  the  lower  hold.  Water,  ship  stores,  and  spare  sails 
were  all  that  were  in  between-decks. 

The  first  two  days  out  we  had  fine  weather,  but  the  ship 
rolled  enough  to  make  all  the  boys  seasick.  I  escaped, 
however,  not  feeling  the  least  uncomfortable,  but  enjoying 
it  all.  The  third  day  came  on  with  fresh  winds,  which 
soon  amounted  to  a  gale,  and  orders  were  given  to  send 
down  the  royal  yards,  and  I  jumped  for  the  main  rigging, 
when  the  mate  sung  out  to  me,  "Where  in  h — 1  are  you 
going  to  ?  " 

I  said  I  was  going  to  send  down  the  royal  yard.  He 
wanted  to  know  what  I  knew  about  it.  I  merely  replied 
that  I  could  send  it  down. 

"  Then  go  ahead,  and  be  quick  about  it ! "  he  said,  at  the 
same  time  calling  an  ordinary  seaman  to  go  up  with  me; 
and  I  thought  he  told  him  to  help  me  only  if  I  got  stuck. 
But  I  was  confident  I  could  do  it,  and  I  did  it.  Having 
got  the  heaviest  of  all  three  down  first,  after  securing  the 
lifts  and  braces  to  the  masts,  I  came  down,  and  the  mate 
said,  "  Well  done,  Charlie ! "  Afterwards  when  everything 
was  snug,  he  called  me  and  wanted  to  know  if  I  had  been 
to  sea  before,  and,  if  not,  where  I  had  learned  to  send  down 
a  royal  yard.  I  told  him,  and  he  wanted  to  know  if  I 
could  box  the  compass.     I  told  him  I  could  and  that  I 


17 

should  like  to  steer  the  ship.     He  said  he  would  give  me  a 
chance  as  soon  as  the  weather  was  better. 

I  found  my  knoAvledge  helped  me  very  much,  for  the 
other  boys  had  to  feed  the  pigs  and  fowls  and  do  the  dirty 
work,  though  to  be  sure  I  had  to  do  the  slushing  the  masts 
with  them,  which  is  the  worst  and  dirtiest  of  all  the  duties 
a  boy  is  called  upon  to  do.  The  topsail,  topgallant,  and 
royal  yards  hoist  up  and  down,  a  peril,  or  band,  keeping 
them  to  the  masts ;  and  the  masts  must  be  well  slushed  or 
greased  to  have  them  move  easily,  and  they  must  be  slushed 
at  least  once  a  week.  It  is  generally  a  Saturday's  job. 
The  boy,  one  for  each  mast,  has  an  oyster  tin  or  some  other 
tin  holding  a  quart  or  more  of  slush  which  he  has  to  get 
from  the  cook.  Now  this  is  his  first  trouble,  for  the 
slush  is  the  cook's  perquisite,  because  it  is  the  grease  wliich 
comes  from  boiling  the  men's  beef  and  pork.  Some  cooks 
will  make  ten  or  twelve  barrels  during  a  year's  voyage, 
and  they  do  not  like  the  boys  to  touch  it,  and  they  swear 
at  them  if  they  drop  or  waste  it.  After  getting  the  slush 
the  boy  has  to  provide  a  piece  of  flannel  to  rub  it  on  the 
mast  with.  Now  for  a  greenhorn  or  a  boy  to  take  this  can 
of  slush  to  the  masthead  without  spilling  some  on  his  shirt 
bosom  or  on  his  pants,  or  getting  it  on  his  hands,  is  a  very 
difficult  job.  Going  up  the  rigging  that  has  ratlines  to 
step  on,  such  as  the  lower  and  topmast  rigging,  is  very  well; 
but  when  you  get  to  the  topgallant  rigging,  where  there 
are  only  two  shrouds  to  climb  up,  and  then  to  the  royal 
and  skysail  masts,  with  only  one  rope  to  climb,  then  comes 
the  trouble.  If  you  can  get  safely  to  the  skysail  masthead 
without  grease  on  your  hands  you  are  fortunate,  but  not 
altogether  safe,  for  you  have  to  dip  the  rag  in  the  slush 
and  rub  it  on  the  after  side  of  the  mast  from  top  to  bottom, 
and  you  have  to  hold  on  with  one  hand  and  slide  down 


'        .  18 

the  backstay,  greasing  the  mast  as  you  go,  first  the  skysail 
mast,  then  the  royal  mast,  then  the  topgallant  mast,  and, 
last  of  all  the  topmast.  If  you  have  been  fortunate  enough 
not  to  grease  yourself  from  head  to  foot  and  not  to  spill 
any  slush  on  deck,  you  are  a  lucky  fellow.  This  job  I 
hated.  Tarring  down  the  rigging  was  easy  compared  to 
this  slushing  job.  Altogether  I  was  pretty  fortunate  as 
far  as  dropping  the  can  or  spilling  on  deck  was  concerned, 
but  generally  my  clothes  had  a  good  share  of  the  cook's 
slush. 

The  living  I  stood  very  well,  for  I  had  a  ravenous  ap- 
petite. Mondays  we  had  salt  beef  and  bread  for  break- 
fast, dinner,  and  supper,  with  a  mixture  at  breakfast 
called  coffee,  a  quart  to  each  one,  boiled  with  molasses. 
It  did  very  well  to  soak  biscuit  in,  and  after  a  while  I 
could  drink  it  and  think  it  good.  Tuesday  we  had  salt 
pork  for  breakfast,  bean  soup  and  salt  pork  for  dinner, 
and  a  quart  of  vinegar  was  allowed  us  on  bean  day. 
Friday  we  had  the  same  bill  of  fare.  Wednesday  we  had 
scouse,  or  beef  hash  mixed  with  potatoes,  or  if  no  potatoes, 
ship's  biscuits  soaked  and  mixed  with  the  beef.  I  was 
very  fond  of  scouse.  This  was  a  good  breakfast.  For 
dinner  we  had,  in  addition  to  salt  beef,  boiled  rice.  Each 
man  and  boy  had  six  large  spoonfuls  of  molasses  to  eat 
wath  the  rice.  The  sailmaker  used  to  measure  our  allow- 
ance of  molasses,  and  he  would  stint  us  boys  if  he  could, 
so  as  to  have  more  for  himself.  Thursday  we  had  scouse 
for  breakfast  and  flour  pudding,  or  duff,  for  dinner.  Fri- 
day the  same  as  Tuesday,  bean  soup.  Saturday  codfish  and 
potatoes  or  rice.  Sunday's  bill  of  fare  was  the  same,  ex- 
cept that  our  flour  pudding  or  duff  had  a  few  raisins  which 
made  it  plum  pudding.  Every  night  we  had  a  quart  of  a 
mixture  called  tea,  boiled  the  same  as  the  coffee,  with 


19 

molasses  for  sweetening.  Such  was  the  bill  of  fare  through 
the  outward  bound  voyage,  and  I  shall  refer  no  more  to 
that.  I  got  used  to  it  and  enjoyed  all  my  meals.  I 
also  enjoyed  cutting  a  piece  of  raw  salt  pork  from  the 
harness  cask  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  walking  the 
deck  with  a  hard  navy  biscuit  and  the  pork.  A  barrel 
of  navy  bread  was  kept  in  the  steerage  and  forecastle, 
and  we  were  allowed  as  much  as  we  could  eat;  and  it 
was  very  good  on  the  voyage  out. 

As  soon  as  we  crossed  the  Gulf  Stream  and  got  into 
steady  weather,  the  mate  sent  me  to  the  lee  wheel  to  ac- 
custom myself  to  steering.  The  man  at  the  weather  wheel, 
or  the  one  who  really  did  the  steering  let  me  take  his 
place  and  I  soon  learned  how  to  keep  the  ship  to  its  course. 
I  had  sailed  boats,  and  knew  very  well  what  it  was  to  sail 
a  course,  or  on  a  wind,  the  only  difference  being  that  the 
ship  steered  by  a  wheel,  the  boats  by  a  tiller;  and  very 
soon  I  was  told  to  take  my  regular  trick  at  the  wheel, 
which  is  two  hours  at  a  time. 

Captain  Rowland  was  an  aristocratic  captain.  He 
came  on  deck  at  stated  times  and  always  wore  kid  gloves. 
He  was  a  very  stern -faced  man.  He  was  a  good  navigator, 
but  not  much  of  a  sailor,  ha\ang  taken  command  without 
going  through  the  forecastle.  He  would  never  allow  him- 
self forward  of  the  mainmast  and  very  seldom  spoke  to  a 
sailor,  but  gave  all  his  orders  to  the  chief  mate,  and  kept 
strict  discipline. 

I  think  that  we  had  been  at  sea  over  two  weeks  before 
I  had  a  word  with  my  sister.  My  brother  had  come  once 
or  twice  forward  of  the  mainmast  to  have  a  short  chat  with 
me,  but  one  day  when  I  was  at  the  wheel  and  the  captain 
down  below,  my  sister  came  and  spoke  to  me,  and  we  had 
quite  a  little  talk  together,  though  it  was  contrary  to  the 


20 

rules  of  the  ship  to  talk  to  the  man  at  the  wheel.  I  have 
no  doubt  I  could  have  had  more  communication  with  both 
my  brother  and  my  sister  if  I  had  chosen  to  do  so,  but  I 
was  afraid  to  do  anything  to  show  that  I  looked  for  favors 
on  account  of  having  a  brother  and  sister  on  board.  The 
men  liked  me  all  the  better  for  it.  They  saw  that  I  could 
do  my  duty  and  more  than  a  boy's  duty  and  that  I  did 
not  put  on  any  airs.  My  sister  thought  Captain  Rowland 
was  an  ideal  captain;  and  a  few  years  afterwards  when  I 
was  to  take  charge,  she  told  me  I  must  pattern  after  Cap- 
tain Rowland,  be  dignified  and  keep  to  the  quarter- 
deck. I  told  her  I  should  be  captain  of  my  ship  and  go 
to  any  part  of  it  I  wished  to;  that  the  quarter-deck  was 
not  big  enough  for  me;  and  that  I  had  never  worn  a  pair 
of  gloves  and  did  not  intend  to,  especially  on  board  a  ship. 

As  the  weeks  flew  by  I  became  more  in  love  with  my 
sea  life,  and  I  got  along  well  with  officers  and  men.  I  was 
perfectly  fearless.  I  could  hold  my  weight  with  one  hand, 
and  I  was  as  much  at  home  on  the  royal  yard  as  on  deck. 

One  afternoon  the  watch  on  deck  to  which  I  belonged 
were  sent  aloft  to  bend  a  new  main-topgallant  sail.  It 
was  blowing  fresh.  The  sail  was  hoisted  up  to  the  mast- 
head by  the  bunt,  or  middle.  The  third  mate  was  out  on 
the  topgallant  yard,  and  I  took  the  earing — a  piece  of 
ratline  stuff  that  fastens  the  sail  to  the  yard  arm — and  ran 
out  on  top  of  the  yard  with  it  to  the  third  mate.  He 
turned  pale  to  see  me,  and  told  me  to  get  down  on  the 
foot  rope  as  quickly  as  possible.  While  there  bending  the 
sail,  the  other  watch  were  called  from  below  to  reef  the 
topsail.  It  was  blowing  a  gale  and  it  was  as  much  as  we 
could  do  to  get  the  sail  bent  and  furled.  I  thought  nothing 
of  what  I  had  done  and  after  the  sails  were  reefed  and 
everything  made  snug,  it  was  my  watch  below  and  I  went 


21 

down  in  the  forecastle  to  talk  with  the  men.  I  had  hardly 
got  there  when  the  second  mate  called  for  me,  and  gave 
me  an  awful  scolding  and  told  me  that  if  I  attempted 
to  run  out  on  a  topgallant  yard  again,  he  would  take  my 
hide  off.  At  the  same  time  I  could  see  he  thought  well  of 
me  for  doing  it;  and  my  brother  afterward  told  me  that 
Mr.  Howard  said  I  was  the  smartest  boy  he  ever  saw  on 
board  a  ship.  I  hate  to  say  so  much  of  myself,  but  it  is 
partly  to  show  why  I  was  promoted  so  quickly  to  a  com- 
mand. 

There  was  only  one  time  I  tliink,  that  I  growled  about 
the  living.  We  were  put  on  an  allowance  of  water,  a 
gallon  a  day.  One  quart  had  to  go  to  the  cook  for  coffee 
and  one  for  tea.  It  would  not  have  been  so  bad  if  the 
water  had  been  good.  The  water  was  stowed  between- 
decks  in  two-hundrcd-gallon  casks,  and  the  bungs  were 
left  out  to  give  it  air.  Now  the  sailmaker  owned  a  mon- 
goose which  he  had  carried  with  him  two  or  three  voyages. 
It  was  a  beautiful  animal,  something  between  a  squirrel 
and  a  weasel,  and  it  was  very  tame,  and  the  sailmaker 
thought  very  much  of  it.  One  day  it  disappeared  and 
could  not  be  found  anywhere.  Some  weeks  after  it  was 
gone,  the  sailmaker,  who  had  the  deahng  out  of  the  water, 
broached  a  new  cask,  which  smelled  horribly  and  tasted 
worse.  But  we  had  to  drink  it.  We  went  to  the  mate 
about  it  and  asked  for  better  water,  but  he  said  it  was 
good  enough,  it  was  only  fermenting  and  would  soon  be 
pure  and  good.  We  had  to  drink  that  cask  of  water  till 
we  got  near  the  bottom.  Then  the  pump  began  to  bring 
up  hairs  which  resembled  those  of  the  departed  mongoose, 
and  on  examination  the  poor  remains  of  the  animal  were 
brought  forth.  We  had  been  drinking  extract  of  mon- 
goose.    Some  of  the  boys  were  made  sick  when  they 


22 

found  it  out,  but  my  stomach  was  not  affected,  though  I 
was  glad  to  know  we  were  going  to  have  better  water  to 
drink. 

After  a  short  passage  of  some  eighty  days  we  arrived  at 
Anjer,  a  small  village  on  the  coast  of  Java,  about  eighty 
miles  from  Batavia.  Here  all  ships  stop  on  their  way 
out  to  and  home  from  China.  The  natives  raise  chickens 
and  ducks  and  fruit  of  all  kinds, — bananas,  oranges, 
mangosteens,  limes,  pineapples,  and  cocoanuts.  We  were 
allowed  all  fruits  but  the  pmeapple.  The  officers  were 
told  not  to  allow  one  to  come  on  board,  as  they  are  con- 
sidered very  dangerous,  giving  the  men  dysentery,  and  in 
Batavia  the  foreigners  will  not  eat  them  without  soaking 
them  in  brandy  over  night.  After  living  on  salt  beef  and 
pork,  we  were  hungry  enough  for  the  delicious  fruit  and 
some  fresh  beef.  Green  turtles  are  very  plentiful,  and 
we  had  one  or  two  tastes  of  turtle  steak.  They  are  very 
good  for  cabin  stores,  as  they  require  nothing  to  eat  and 
no  water  to  drink,  being  stowed  away  on  their  backs  with 
a  wet  swab  under  their  heads,  and  keeping  fat  for  three 
or  four  weeks. 

We  filled  our  empty  casks  with  good  water  and  got 
underweigh,  and  proceeded  through  the  Java  Sea  into  the 
Banda  Sea,  out  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  through  Dampier 
Straits.  It  is  a  much  longer  way  to  go  than  through  the 
China  Sea,  but  at  that  season  of  the  year  the  north-east 
monsoon  blew  heavily,  and  it  would  have  been  almost 
impossible  to  beat  up  against  the  wind  and  currents 
setting  strong  to  the  south-west.  The  Horatio  was  then 
the  fastest  of  the  East  India  ships,  but  she  could  not  make 
over  ten  miles  an  hour.  However,  we  arrived  in  Hong 
Kong  in  one  hundred  days,  the  shortest  time  by  the  east- 
ern passage  that  had  been  made  up  to  that  date.     It  was 


23 

the  13th  of  February  when  we  anchored  m  the  harbor  of 
Hong  Kong.  This  island  had  only  been  handed  over 
to  the  English  a  short  time  before,  and  we  merely  stopped 
for  orders  and  then  proceeded  to  Macao,  forty  miles  to 
the  west.  Macao  was  a  Portuguese  colony,  but  all  the 
American  and  English  firms  at  Canton  had  branch  houses 
there,  and  Uved  there  a  good  deal  of  the  time  during  the 
summer  months.  It  is  an  open  harbor,  but  has  good 
anchoraire  and  is  safe  in  the  north-east  monsoon. 
Some  four  miles  from  the  anchorage  the  opium  ships  were 
anchored  in  the  river  Typa,  out  of  sight  from  Macao, 
and  there  they  smuggled  opium  to  the  Chinese,  who  came 
in  large,  fast  boats  to  get  it.  It  was  a  favorite  place  for 
the  mates  to  go  and  spend  the  evening,  as  they  had  plenty 
of  drink  and  eatables  and  card  playing.  The  captain 
lived  on  shore.  We  boys,  four  of  us,  had  nothing  to  do 
but  take  care  of  the  boats ;  and  pretty  much  every  evening 
after  supper  the  boat's  crew  were  called  away  to  take  one 
or  two  of  the  mates  aboard  the  opium  ships.  It  was  not  a 
hard  run  into  the  Typa  River,  but  coming  back  at  any 
hour  between  midnight  and  two  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
with  a  strong  head  wind  and  rough  sea,  was  anything  but 
fun,  and  very  hard  work,  and  we  were  very  wet  and  cold 
when  we  got  on  deck.  We  generally  had  a  good  time  in 
the  forecastle  while  the  mates  enjoyed  themselves  in  the 
cabin  of  the  opium  smuggler;  and  as  we  had  very  little 
to  do  in  the  daytime  but  to  pull  ashore  to  get  orders  from 
the  captain,  and  often  when  we  had  to  wait  were  taken 
up  to  the  merchants'  house  and  had  a  good  dinner  given  to 
us,  we  enjoyed  the  life  very  much. 

While  laying  in  Macao  Roads,  the  men  were  employed 
on  the  rigging,  sending  down  the  topgallant  masts,  scraping 
and  painting  them,  cleaning  ship,  mside  and  out,  painting 


24 

and  putting  her  in  beautiful  shape  before  going  to  Wham- 
poa  to  load  for  home.  After  the  masts  were  all  on  end, 
the  rigging  had  to  be  tarred  down,  and  the  boat's  crew 
were  called  to  do  the  light  work.  I  was  the  lightest  boy 
on  board,  and  I  was  given  the  job  of  tarring  the  small 
stays  that  run  from  the  royal  masthead  to  the  opposite 
mast.  I  sat  on  a  piece  of  board  called  a  boatswain's 
chair,  which  was  made  fast  by  a  rope  over  the  stay  to  be 
tarred,  and  a  gantline  rove  through  a  block  at  the  mast- 
head, and  lowered  from  the  deck.  I  did  not  dislike  the 
job,  but  my  hands  when  I  got  thi'ough  were  as  black  as 
the  tar  itself;  and  just  as  I  got  through  the  mate  gave  me 
an  invitation  from  Russell  &  Co.  to  dine  there  with  my 
brother  and  sister.  I  accepted,  and  on  the  day  appointed 
went  on  shore  dressed  up  in  my  best,  and  presented  myself 
to  my  sister.  When  she  looked  at  my  hands  she  was 
terribly  mortified,  but  my  brother  told  her  that  every  one 
knew  what  it  was  and  that  it  was  no  discredit  to  me.  I 
thought  at  one  time  she  was  going  to  protest  against  my 
going  to  the  dinner  table,  but  she  came  at  last  to  look  at  it 
as  a  sort  of  joke,  and  I  went  in  to  the  table  with  her:  and, 
though  as  many  as  twenty  people  sat  down  to  dinner, 
none  of  them  took  any  notice  of  my  hands.  I  had  a 
splendid  dinner,  for  the  foreigners  and  Americans  lived 
on  the  best  the  land  afforded,  and  that  was  as  good  as 
could  be  had  in  any  part  of  the  world.  The  fish  market 
cannot  be  surpassed  for  the  different  varieties  and  the 
flavor  of  the  fish,  both  salt  water  and  fresh,  and  the 
Chinese  cooks  are  adepts  in  cooking  them.  The  turkeys 
are  brought  mostly  from  Manila,  and  they  are  shut  up 
in  cellars  and  fattened.  All  sorts  of  game  are  in  abun- 
dance, and  the  Chinamen  are  famous  for  their  rich  and 
juicy  capons,  which  are  almost  as  large  as  turkeys.     The 


25 

fruits  are  also  abundant — bananas,  oranges,  and  peaches — 
and  very  cheap. 

Soon  after  this  dinner,  the  captain  had  orders  to  proceed 
to  Whampoa  to  get  ready  to  take  in  cargo  for  home.  We 
were  very  glad  to  leave  Macao,  for  in  the  harbor  the  ship 
rolled  in  the  rough  sea  almost  as  badly  as  at  sea,  and 
water  casks  and  spars  had  to  be  lashed  all  the  time. 
Whampoa  is  nmety  miles  from  Macao  and  twelve  miles 
from  Canton.  The  ships  can  go  no  farther  up  the  river, 
and  the  cargo  is  brought  down  in  chop  boats  or  large 
covered  lighters,  which  will  carry  from  eight  hundred  to 
fifteen  hundred  half  chests  of  tea  at  a  load. 

We  had  a  very  good  trip  up,  having  a  fair  wind  and  a 
flood  tide  which  took  us  up  beyond  the  Boge  forts,  about 
forty  miles  from  Whampoa,  where  we  anchored  to  wait 
over  the  ebb  tide,  which  runs  very  strong.  Here  we  lay 
at  anchor  some  six  hours  and  the  next  tide  carried  us  to 
our  anchorage  at  Whampoa.  The  river  here  is  very 
narrow,  and  ships  have  to  moor  with  two  anchors,  and  it 
was  a  long  job  in  those  days  when  ships  had  a  common 
windlass  worked  with  handspikes.  The  ship  runs  up  the 
river,  and  if  a  good,  strong  breeze  blows  she  makes  a 
running  moor;  that  is,  she  lets  go  the  port  anchor,  on 
which  a  large  quantity  of  chain  has  been  overhauled; 
as  soon  as  the  chain  is  taut  more  is  paid  out,  till  there  are 
ninety  fathoms  out,  when  a  slight  sheer  is  given  and  the 
other  anchor  is  let  go,  and  as  soon  as  the  ship  begins  to  go 
astern,  chain  is  paid  out  and  the  first  chain  is  hove  in,  till 
there  are  forty-five  fathoms  on  the  second  chain,  and  then 
she  lies  in  the  middle.  On  the  flood  tide  she  rides  with 
the  first  anchor  let  go;  on  the  ebb  tide  she  rides  at  the 
second  anchor,  and  swings  around  in  her  own  length. 

Here  the  captain  left,  and  the  boat's  crew  were  sum- 


26 

moned  to  pull  him  up  to  Canton,  where  he  took  up  his 
abode  with  Russell  &  Co.,  the  consignees  of  the  ship. 
It  was  a  pull  of  twelve  miles  and  with  the  tide  against  us 
was  a  hard  pull ;  but  we  had  had  a  good  apprenticeship  to 
the  oars  at  Macao,  and  we  did  not  mind  it  very  much,  es- 
pecially as  we  were  all  sent  up  to  the  house  and  had  a 
good  breakfast  or  dinner  or  supper,  depending  on  the 
time  we  got  to  the  city. 

The  second  day  after  we  anchored  in  Whampoa,  we 
had  to  unmoor  ship  after  six  p.m.,  and  haul  alongside  of 
an  English  ship  to  discharge  our  pig  lead.  It  is  so  long  ago 
that  I  have  forgotten  the  precise  way  of  doing  the  work, 
but  it  was  a  smuggling  job.  Every  ship  had  a  mandarin 
or  custom  house  officer  in  his  boat  longside,  or  astern,  to 
keep  the  ship  from  smuggling,  but  they  were  bribed  on 
this  occasion,  and  had  gone  on  shore  for  the  night,  and 
the  ship  we  were  about  to  put  the  lead  on  board  of  had  an 
open  manifest,  so  that  anything  on  her  manifest  was 
supposed  to  have  been  brought  from  England,  and  to 
have  paid  duties  on  her  arrival.  As  it  would  not  do  to 
use  our  Cliinese  stevedores  to  do  the  work,  the  ship's 
crew  had  to  do  it,  and  it  was  one  of  the  hardest  night's 
work  I  ever  did.  Myself  and  three  others  were  in  the 
lower  hold,  and  we  had  to  pass  the  pigs  of  lead,  which 
weighed  sixty  pounds  each,  up  to  a  stage  five  feet  above 
us,  two  of  us  at  a  time;  then  others  passed  them  to 
another  stage,  and  so  on,  on  to  the  deck  of  the  Enghsh 
ship.  At  first  the  pigs  of  lead  felt  very  fight, — sixty  pounds 
between  two  of  us, — but  they  grew  very  heavy  after  we 
had  heaved  them  for  two  or  three  hours,  notwithstanding 
we  were  relieved  every  half  hour,  and  had  a  half  hour's 
rest;  before  morning  it  was  as  much  as  we  could  do  to 
lift  a  bar  to  the  staging.     But  there  was  no  help  for  it. 


27 

we  had  to  do  it.  However,  even'thing  comes  to  an  end 
and  the  last  pig  was  finally  sent  up.  This,  however,  did 
not  end  the  job,  for  we  had  to  haul  the  ship  back  to  her 
anchorage  and  remoor  her  in  her  old  berth,  which  was  hard 
work  but  different,  and  it  was  a  relief  to  get  out  in  the  air; 
but  we  did  not  get  our  breakfast  till  very  late  in  the  morn- 
ing. I  have  never  forgotten  that  night's  work;  we  were 
allowed  four  hours'  sleep  after  we  had  our  breakfast, 
and  I  for  one  never  knew  what  sleep  was  until  that  time. 
After  this  smuggling  job  was  over,  we  boys  were  sent  to 
boat's  duty  again.  We  had  to  pull  to  Canton  twelve 
miles,  generally  starting  from  three  to  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  according  as  the  tide  served,  for  it  made  a  great 
difference  whether  we  pulled  \^^th  the  tide  or  against  it. 
With  a  good,  strong  flood  tide  we  would  go  up  in  an  hour 
and  a  half;  then  against  the  tide  it  would  take  us  four 
hours  and  more.  We  had  a  good  deal  of  fun,  for  over 
a  dozen  boats  would  start  about  the  same  time,  and  we 
used  to  race  to  see  who  would  get  there  first;  and  as  soon 
as  we  arrived  at  the  jetty  at  Canton  we  were  met  by 
Chinese  runners,  and  taken  up  to  Hog  Lane,  China  street, 
old  China  street,  where  they  gave  us  tea  and  pork,  chops 
and  boiled  eggs.  This  they  did  to  secure  our  patronage 
on  the  day  when  we  had  our  liberty,  with  money  to  spend 
in  their  store.  After  eating  a  good  breakfast  with  the 
Chinamen,  we  went  around  to  our  consignees  and  had 
another  hearty  breakfast,  which  was  always  prepared  for 
the  boat's  crew  and  officer,  and  was  always  a  good  one, 
and  after  a  pull  of  twelve  miles  without  any  breakfast  we 
could  stow  away  a  good  deal  of  provisions.  Sometimes 
we  were  delayed  in  Canton  till  after  dinner  or  lunch  time, 
when  we  had  a  good  dinner,  at  the  consignee's,  but  more 
often  we  had  to  pull  back  to  the  ship,  and  very  often  had 


28 

to  make  another  trip  to  Canton  in  the  afternoon,  which 
made  forty-eight  miles  of  rowing  in  twelve  or  fifteen  hours ; 
and  one  day  we  made  three  trips,  or  seventy-two  miles 
in  twenty-four  hours,  which  is  a  pretty  hard  day's  work. 
The  worst  of  that  day's  work  was  getting  back  to  the  ship 
at  midnight,  and  finding  that  we  could  not  go  below  be- 
cause the  ship  was  being  smoked  to  kill  the  rats.  It  was 
raining  hard  and  it  was  diflficult  to  find  a  good  dry  place 
where  we  could  sleep,  so  we  lay  down  on  deck,  with  a 
stick  of  wood  for  a  pillow  and  a  monkey  jacket  over  us, 
and  slept  as  the  weary  sleep. 

Ships  always  have  more  or  less  rats  on  board,  and  it  is 
necessary  to  clear  them  out  before  taking  in  cargo.  To 
do  this,  the  hatches  are  all  closed,  and  the  seams  all  pasted 
over  with  paper,  as  are  the  cabin  doors,  skylights  and 
portholes,  and  the  ship  made  air-tight.  Then  large  fires 
are  built  under  the  fore,  main  and  after  hatches  on  the 
ballast,  with  charcoal  and  sulphur.  Tubs  of  water  are 
placed  near  the  fires  and  holes  bored  in  the  hatches  so 
that  a  lookout  can  be  kept  for  any  accident;  then  the 
hatches  are  sealed  up  tight  and  kept  closed  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  The  fires  burn  up  the  air,  and  the  rats  come 
from  every  part  of  the  ship  and  go  for  the  fires,  for  the  air 
lasts  at  the  fires  longer  than  elsewhere,  and  besides  they 
want  water;  and  there  they  die.  The  poor  Chinese  know 
when  a  ship  is  being  smoked,  and  when  the  hatches  will 
be  opened,  and  they  gather  around  the  ship  to  pick  up 
the  rats  when  they  are  thrown  overboard.  As  soon  as  the 
rats  are  caught  they  are  skinned  and  cleaned  and  hung 
up  in  the  boats.  It  is  some  time  after  the  hatches  are 
opened  before  you  can  go  below  with  safety,  and  when  the 
air  is  purified,  every  part  of  the  ship  is  searched  for  the 
dead  rats  which  are  found  everywhere,  though  the  largest 


29 

number  are  around  the  water  tubs  and  the  fires.  Some 
ships  will  throw  out  a  thousand  dead  rats.  I  could  not 
state  how  many  we  caught,  but  I  think  there  were  over 
two  hundred.  While  on  the  subject  of  vermin,  I  may 
tell  of  the  pest  of  cockroaches  which  are  really  more 
troublesome  than  the  rats,  for  they  eat  the  labels  off  the 
tea  chests.  They  will  gnaw  your  toe  nails  and  eat  your 
boots  and  your  oil  clothing,  and  will  fly  in  your  faces;  on 
one  occasion  they  drove  all  the  watch  below  on  deck. 
They  could  not  sleep  for  the  numbers  that  kept  crawling 
over  them  and  flying  about.  To  drive  them  away  Chinese 
are  hired,  who  come  on  board  with  rattan  bushel  baskets 
which  they  fill  with  bait.  In  one  day  and  night  they 
have  been  known  to  catch  over  tliirtv  bushels  of  cock- 

a/ 

roaches.  This  is  a  fact  and  any  one  who  has  sailed  in  a 
China  ship  in  old  times  will  vouch  for  the  truth  of  it. 

After  the  ship  is  cleared  of  rats  and  roaches,  the  ballast 
is  trimmed  and  the  Chinese  stevedores  take  charge  of  the 
hold;  and  it  is  most  interesting  to  see  them  stow  the  tea 
away  with  boxes  of  firecrackers  and  mats  of  cassia.  They 
make  such  close  stowing  that  you  can  hardly  get  a  case 
knife  between  the  chests. 

A  few  days  before  the  cargo  is  completed,  half  of  the 
crew  are  given  liberty  and  take  the  boats  and  go  to  Canton. 
The  Chinese  shopkeepers  know  they  are  coming,  and  their 
nmners  meet  them  at  the  jetty  and  call  out,  "  Come  my 
shop,  catchee  tea,  pork,  chops,  boil  'em  eggs!"  And 
some  of  the  men  go  to  one  shop  and  some  to  others,  and 
spend  their  money  at  the  shop  where  they  are  treated. 
Very  little  tea  is  drunk,  for  these  Chinamen  know  well 
enough  that  sailors  want  something  stronger  than  that, 
so  they  give  them  gin,  brandy,  or  anything  they  call  for. 
Very  few  sailors  in  those  days  left  Canton  without  help 


30 

after  the  day  was  done;  fortunately  they  had  but  little 
money  to  spend.  The  next  day  the  other  half  of  the  crew 
had  liberty.  When  my  turn  came  and  I  had  ten  dollars 
given  me  by  the  Captain,  as  my  brother  was  in  Canton,  I 
spent  the  day  at  Russell  &  Co.'s.  Had  a  good  break- 
fast, lunch  and  dinner  and  enjoyed  the  day  very  much. 
Bought  presents  to  take  home  and  invested  the  fifty  dollars 
given  me  by  my  father  in  pongee  or  silk  handkerchiefs. 
The  liberty  day  being  over,  all  hands  were  employed 
bending  sails  and  getting  ready  for  sea.  The  water  casks 
we  filled  from  the  river,  which  is  very  muddy.  At  night 
two  casks  were  filled  and  the  next  morning  when  the  mud 
had  settled,  the  clear  water  was  run  into  other  casks 
and  the  mud  washed  out  of  the  first  two.  Then  they 
were  filled  up  again  and  emptied,  and  so  on,  till  all  our 
casks  were  filled  with  good,  clean  water;  and  it  was  very 
good  too. 

As  the  ship  was  now  nearly  loaded,  the  boys  who  had 
been  living  in  between-decks  had  to  go  to  the  forecastle 
and  live  with  the  sailors.  There  not  being  room  enough 
or  bunks  to  sleep  in  we  had  to  turn  in  and  out,  one 
watch  being  on  deck  while  the  other  watch  took  their 
bunks.  I  was  fortunate  in  being  messmate  with  a  very 
clean,  neat  Dutchman,  also  a  good  sailor,  and  we  got 
along  very  well  together,  but  it  was  not  pleasant  to  turn 
into  a  bed  that  was  hot  and  had  just  been  slept  in,  especially 
in  hot  weather.  However,  one  gets  used  to  most  every- 
thing and  I  had  the  faculty  of  putting  up  with  whatever 
came  to  hand,  and  could  stand  almost  anything,  though  I 
growled  with  the  rest  for  the  fun  of  the  thing, — a  sailor 
cannot  get  along  without  a  little  of  that.  This  would  be 
nothing  if  it  went  no  further,  but  the  forecastle  of  a  mer- 
chant ship  was  a  perfect  hell  in  those  days.     When  the 


31 

watch  went  below  at  eight  o'clock  they  would  all  light  their 
pipes  and  turn  in,  and  then  each  one  would  try  to  see 
which  could  be  the  most  profane.  They  would  begin  and 
damn  the  captain,  and  then  the  officers,  and  at  last  each 
other,  till  their  pipes  were  out  and  they  went  off  to  sleep. 

I  think  it  was  the  last  of  April  when  we  got  under  weigh, 
and  with  twenty  or  thirty  sampans,  or  China  boats  towing 
us,  we  proceeded  through  the  shipping,  and  after  crossing 
the  first  bar  made  sail  and  dropped  with  the  tide  till  we 
got  room  to  work  the  sliip.  Then  with  a  light  wind  we 
soon  passed  the  Boca  Tigris  forts,  and  in  a  few  days  were 
out  in  the  China  Sea,  homeward  bound.  A  ship  with  a 
tea  cargo  is  very  buoyant  and  is  not  deep  in  the  water 
and  sails  very  well.  We  passed  Anjer  and  through  the 
Straits  of  Sunda,  taking  the  southeast  trade  winds. 
Running  before  them  made  rapid  progress  across  the 
Indian  Ocean  towards  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  About 
all  I  remember  of  this  passage  was  that  soon  after  leaving 
Java  we  were  put  on  short  allowance  of  salt  beef  and  pork; 
the  salt  provisions  ha\dng  been  sold  by  the  officers  to  pay 
their  bills  in  Whampoa,  unbeknowTi  to  the  captain.  From 
Madagascar  to  the  Cape  we  had  variable  winds. 

Off  Cape  Agulhas,  where  the  current  runs  very  strong 
to  the  westward,  which  is  a  great  help  to  ships  bound 
around  the  Cape,  the  winds  are  almost  always  ahead  and 
blow  heavily  most  of  the  time;  but  it  raises  a  very  short 
and  high  sea  in  which  the  vessel  makes  very  bad  weather 
of  it.  The  Horatio  was  a  short  ship  and  in  this  sea 
she  would  almost  stand  on  end  sometimes, — the  sailors 
called  her  "the  pile  driver."  As  usual  we  had  heavy 
weather,  and  I  was  called  to  go  aloft  and  furl  the  main- 
royal,  the  ship  pitching  at  a  fearful  rate;  all  hands  were 
shortening  sail,  and  I  had  just  about  got  the  sail  fast  when 


32 

the  vessel  pitched  very  suddenly  and  so  deep  that  the 
fore  and  main -topgallant  mast  went  over  the  side.  I 
went  over  with  the  main  and,  fortunately,  caught  the 
topmast  riggmg  without  being  hurt.  I  got  down  quickly 
and  I  think  I  was  badly  scared,  for  I  thought  the  ship  was 
going  down  bow  first.  It  was  a  very  narrow  escape,  for 
if  I  had  not  held  on  hard  I  should  have  been  thrown  a 
long  way  from  the  ship  and  probably  have  been  drowned. 
After  sail  was  reduced  it  was  late  in  the  evening  before  we 
got  the  wreck  of  the  masts  on  deck,  and  as  the  masts 
were  not  wanted  till  the  gale  abated,  we  did  not  send  the 
new  ones  up,  but  had  them  all  ready. 

While  close  in  to  Cape  Agulhas  we  hove  the  lead  with 
two  fish  hooks  attached  and  brought  up  two  fine  fish, 
and  every  time  we  tacked  ship  we  hove  the  lead  again 
and  brought  up  fish,  catching  enough  for  all  hands,  and 
they  tasted  good,  for  we  had  been  on  short  allowance  for 
a  long  time.  We  sighted  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  after 
getting  to  the  westward  of  it  took  a  southeast  wind,  and 
with  all  sail  set  before  the  wind  we  made  rapid  head- 
way into  fine  weather. 

We  were  all  anxious  to  get  home,  for  the  crew  were 
worked  from  morning  to  night  scraping  spars,  painting 
ship  inside  and  out,  and  getting  ready  for  port.  There 
was  nothing  but  grumbling  on  the  part  of  the  sailors, 
for  we  were  daily  being  put  on  shorter  allowance;  the 
rice  and  beans  gave  out  and  we  had  nothing  but  salt  beef 
and  pork  and  very  little  of  those.  But  the  wind  held 
good  and  about  the  middle  of  August  we  took  a  pilot  off 
Sandy  Hook  and  before  night  were  alongside  of  the  wharf. 

My  brother  Josiah  was  the  only  one  to  greet  me,  and  I 
was  very  glad  to  see  him.  He  told  me  there  was  no  one 
at  home  but  Ellen.     My  father  and  mother  had  gone  to 


33 

Vermont  and  my  sister  Sarah  had  gone  to  England  to 
spend  a  year  with  her  sister  Harriet,  and  the  rest  of  the 
family  were  scattered  at  different  summer  resorts,  so  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  go  to  London  and  see  my  sisters. 

The  day  after  we  arrived  I  went  down  to  the  Horatio 
to  be  paid  off.  I  had  been  doing  ordinary  seaman's  work 
the  whole  voyage  and  I  thought  I  ought  to  have  some 
wages  paid  me;  but  no,  I  had  shipped  as  a  boy  with  no 
wages,  and  there  was  no  help  for  me.  I  felt  badly  and 
very  much  disappointed.  Then,  as  I  intended  shipping 
on  board  the  Toronto,  Captain  Griswold,  I  asked  Captain 
Rowland  to  give  me  a  recommendation,  but  he  said  he 
never  gave  a  written  recommendation  to  any  one.  I  was 
mad  enough  to  liit  him  and  left  as  quickly  as  possible. 
The  next  day  I  went  on  board  of  the  Toronto  to  see  if  I 
could  get  a  berth  as  ordinary  seaman.  The  Captain  was 
in  the  cabin  and  I  asked  the  steward  if  I  could  see  him. 
He  asked  what  my  name  was,  and  I  told  him.  He  said, 
"Charley  Low  step  right  in,  for  Captain  Howland  has 
been  here  and  given  you  the  best  character  a  boy  ever  had; 
he  says  you  are  the  smartest  boy  he  ever  had  on  board 
his  ship."  Upon  hearing  this  I  felt  a  good  deal  better 
towards  my  old  Captain,  and  passed  into  the  cabin  and 
asked  the  Captain  if  there  was  any  chance  for  me  as  ordi- 
nary seaman.  He  was  a  man  of  very  few  words  and  I 
liked  his  looks.  He  said  that  my  old  Captain  had  been 
there,  and  that  he  was  glad  to  give  me  a  berth,  and  he 
made  out  an  order  for  me  to  go  and  sign  the  shipping 
articles.  I  felt  as  light  as  a  feather,  and  thanking  him, 
went  at  once  to  the  shipping  office  and  signed  as  ordinary 
seaman,  at  eleven  dollars  a  month  and  two  months'  ad- 
vance, which  I  pocketed.  I  then  went  to  my  brother's 
office  and  told  him  I  had  shipped  on  board  the  packet 


34 

ship  Toronto,  and  was  to  sail  in  five  days.  He  was  very 
sorry  and  tried  to  persuade  me  not  to  go  so  soon;  said 
that  the  family  would  soon  be  at  home  and  would  be 
much  disappointed  in  not  finding  me.  But  it  was  of  no 
use,  and  in  seven  days  from  the  time  I  passed  Sandy 
Hook  I  was  on  my  way  out. 

The  Toronto  was  double  the  size  of  the  Horatio  and 
every  spar  and  sail  was  heavy,  so  as  to  stand  the  heavy 
weather  of  the  North  Atlantic.  She  was  fitted  to  carry 
one  hundred  cabin  passengers  and  three  or  four  hundred 
in  the  steerage.  In  those  days  there  were  no  steamers 
and  as  every  one  had  to  go  to  Europe  in  these  packets 
the  cabins  were  beautifully  furnished  and  the  fare  was  as 
good  as  at  any  hotel  in  New  York.  We  had  a  crew  of 
tliirty  seamen  and  four  ordinaries,  no  boys.  The  crew 
was  made  up  of  the  hardest  kind  of  men;  they  were 
called  "hoosiers,"  working  in  New  Orleans  or  Mobile 
during  the  winter  at  stowing  ships  with  cotton,  and  in 
the  summer  sailing  in  the  packet  ships.  They  were  all 
good  chantey  men;  that  is,  they  could  all  sing  at  their 
work  and  were  good  natured  and  could  work  hard,  but 
they  did  not  care  much  about  the  officers  and  would  not 
be  humbugged  or  hazed.  Besides  this  large  crew,  we  had 
as  steerage  passengers  twenty  men  from  the  ship  Coro- 
mandel,  an  East  India  ship  that  had  come  home  from  a 
two  years'  voyage,  who  were  going  to  London  on  a  spree. 
The  steerage  passage  cost  only  "fifteen  dollars  and  find 
themselves."  They  were  also  a  jolly  set  of  fellows  and 
when  we  reefed  topsails  or  made  sail  they  all  joined  in 
with  us,  so  that  our  work  was  easy  and  we  could  reef  and 
hoist  all  three  topsails  at  once,  with  a  different  song  for 
each  one.  In  the  dog  watch,  from  six  to  eight  in  the 
evening,  they  would  gather  on  the   forecastle    and   sing 


35 

comic  songs  and  negro  melodies.  There  were  two  or 
tliree  violins  and  accordions  with  them,  and  the  time 
passed  very  much  more  pleasantly  than  on  board  the 
Horatio,  where  gambling  was  the  order  of  the  day;  be- 
sides, after  being  on  short  allowance  for  two  months  I  had 
as  much  as  I  could  eat.  The  cook  would  have  fared  badly 
on  board  that  ship  if  he  had  not  done  his  best  in  making 
scouse  and  duff.  But  I  was  surprised  one  day.  We  had 
some  fifty  or  more  cabin  passengers,  and  the  first  two  or 
three  days  out  they  were  seasick,  but  the  steward  had  to 
provide  for  them  as  if  they  were  well,  with  the  result  that 
we  had  lots  of  cabin  fare  sent  to  the  forecastle:  turkeys, 
chickens,  mutton,  beef,  pies  and  puddings,  and  the  salt 
beef  and  pork  was  not  dealt  out.  It  was  a  feast  to  me, 
but  two  days  were  too  much  for  the  men,  and  they  went 
aft  in  a  body  and  told  the  Captain  they  did  not  ship  to 
eat  "cabin  grub,"  and  they  would  do  no  more  work  till 
they  had  their  salt  beef  and  pork  again.  The  captain 
said  nothing  but  "All  right,  my  men,  you  shall  have  your 
beef  and  pork."  I  thought  they  were  big  fools,  for  if  they 
had  waited  a  little  longer  they  would  have  had  no  more 
cabin  fare,  for  the  passengers  soon  got  well  and  had  sea 
appetites  and  could  all  eat  their  allowance.  In  two  or 
three  days  more  the  sailors  growled  because  they  did  not 
get  any  of  the  good  things,  but  that  is  sailor-like,  they 
must  growl  about  something,  no  matter  what  it  is;  it  is 
their  nature.  I  had  no  reason  to  complain,  for  the  steward 
took  a  great  fancy  to  me  and  many  pieces  of  chicken 
and  pie  and  pudding  he  kept  for  me  in  the  pantry,  calling 
me  to  him  when  I  had  my  watch  below. 

We  had  very  favorable  winds,  and  after  a  run  of  seven- 
teen days,  took  a  pilot  off  Land's  End  in  the  English 
Channel.     In  going  up  the  Thames  we  had  a  pilot  whom 


36 

the  sailors  called  "Staysail  Jack."  We  had  to  drop  up 
with  the  tide,  which  was  done  by  placing  the  ship  broad- 
side to  the  tide.  To  keep  her  so,  we  had  to  haul  out  the 
spanker  to  bring  her  to  and  haul  down  the  fore  staysail; 
and  every  few  minutes  it  was  "Brail  up  the  spanker  and 
haul  down  the  staysail,"  and  vice  versa.  And  this  was 
kept  up  till  we  hauled  alongside  of  the  St.  Katherine 
dock. 

The  London  docks  are  all  enclosed,  and  you  can  only 
enter  at  high  tide,  slack  water;  and  as  soon  as  the  ship 
is  in,  the  gates  are  shut.  It  was  very  late  in  the  evening 
when  we  entered,  and  while  hauling  in,  the  two  crews 
united  in  singing,  and  made  such  noise  that  the  dock 
master  requested  the  mates  to  stop  them,  as  they  would 
wake  up  the  whole  of  London.  But  when  the  sailors  heard 
this  they  only  sang  the  louder  and  only  stopped  when  the 
ship  was  made  fast. 

There  is,  or  was,  much  smuggling  done  by  the  sailors 
in  tobacco,  and  a  number  of  them  had  stored  a  lot  of  it 
in  the  bunt  of  the  topsails,  intending  to  get  it  when  they 
had  a  chance  to  take  it  ashore.  What  was  their  surprise 
the  next  morning,  when  the  Custom-house  officers  came 
on  board  and  immediately  went  aloft  and  loosed  the  sails ! 
Down  came  the  tobacco,  which  was  seized  and  taken  to 
the  Custom-house  and  confiscated.  Then  every  sailor 
had  to  give  up  his  tobacco  to  the  mate,  who  weighed  it 
and  gave  the  men  a  receipt  for  it,  and  every  two  or  three 
days  dealt  it  out  to  them  for  use.  Thus  it  was  evident 
that  there  was  an  informer  on  board.  The  men  supposed 
it  must  be  a  certain  sanctimonious  old  fellow.  So  they 
brought  him  to  trial  in  the  forecastle,  had  a  jury,  and  ap- 
pointed me  as  judge.  It  was  great  sport.  He  was  con- 
victed and  sentenced  to  receive  a  dozen  lashes,  and  it  is 


37 

needless  to  say  he  was  an  enemy  of  mine  from  that  time 
on.     But  the  sailors  drove  him  out  of  the  ship. 

The  crew  of  the  Coromandel  left  at  once,  and  it  was 
only  a  few  days  before  their  money  was  gone,  and  they 
had  to  sliip  and  go  to  sea.  Some  of  them  came  on  board 
our  ship  and  begged  for  a  part  of  our  grub.  They  were 
a  sorry  lot  of  men;  they  had  their  spree,  and  dearly 
they  paid  for  it. 

A  few  nights  after  we  were  docked  we  were  roused  out 
of  our  sleep  by  a  pounding  on  the  scuttle  and  a  loud  voice 
calhng  out  "Tumble  up  there,  tumble  up,  your  ship  is 
on  fire."  We  were  not  long  dressing;  and  coming  on 
deck  we  found  the  cook's  galley  all  of  a  blaze,  but  we 
manned  the  pump  and  with  plenty  of  buckets  we  put  it 
out,  just  as  the  first  fire  engine  came  alongside.  After 
this,  fires  were  forbidden  except  in  the  morning  to  get  our 
breakfast  with;  for  dinner,  we  were  sent  to  an  eating 
house  on  Ratchffe  Highway,  a  short  distance  outside 
the  dock  gate.  I  only  remember  that  we  had  good  feed 
and  that  part  of  it  was  a  pound  of  American  cheese  and 
a  quart  of  beer  for  each  man. 

We  had  a  great  many  tons  of  these  cheeses  on  board  as 
freight.  Some  weighed  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two 
hundred  pounds  and  were  very  ugly  things  to  handle. 
Tlie  sailors  discharged  the  cargo  and  hove  the  sling  loads 
up  by  a  winch  at  the  mainmast.  If  very  heavy  we  took 
the  load  to  the  capstan;  and  while  we  were  heaving  away, 
at  eleven  in  the  morning,  the  sailors  struck  up  "  Roll  and 
go  for  that  white  pitcher,  roll  and  go,"  and  the  steward 
would  come  up  with  a  great  pitcher  filled  with  rum,  and 
give  each  of  us  a  drink.  The  same  thing  was  repeated  at 
four  in  the  afternoon.  This  was  varied  when  we  were 
taking  in  cargo,  which  consisted  of  a  great  deal  of  railroad 


38 

iron  and  we  had  to  pass  it  in  from  a  lighter  alongside 
and  then  down  the  hold.  It  was  terribly  hard  work,  and 
instead  of  the  rum,  a  quart  of  beer  from  the  tap  room  was 
brought  to  each  one  at  eleven  in  the  morning  and  four 
in  the  afternoon.  I  do  not  think  we  could  have  held 
out  without  it.  Tliis  was  the  second  time  I  had  as  hard 
work  as  I  could  stand;  the  first  was  in  China,  handling 
pig  lead  all  night. 

I  had  been  in  London  a  week  without  trying  to  see  my 
sisters,  I  did  not  know  where  to  find  them.  One  Friday 
afternoon  I  was  in  the  forward  house  cleaning  paint 
brushes,  when  the  Captain  came  along  and  just  behind  him 
Mr.  John  Hillard,  my  brother-in-law.  I  was  glad  to  see 
him  and  he  told  me  to  make  myself  clean  if  I  could,  and  go 
home  with  him.  The  Captain  said  I  could  go  and  stay 
until  Monday  morning.  I  immediately  proceeded  to 
wash  and  put  on  my  best  clothes.  Now  I  had  what  I 
thought  was  a  stunning  suit  of  clothes,  namely,  a  short 
blue  jacket  and  trousers  of  blue  cloth  made  in  regular 
sailor  style  (tight  around  the  hips,  small  at  the  knee  and 
wide  enough  at  the  bottom  to  cover  my  boot  from  heel 
to  toe),  with  a  white  shirt  having  a  rolling  collar,  a  big 
black  neck  handkerchief  and  a  blue  navy  cap.  I  thought 
I  was  handsome  as  a  picture. 

Well,  we  started,  and  after  a  long  time  in  an  omnibus 
we  reached  the  street  called  Marylebone  Lane,  and  got 
out  and  walked  a  block  or  two,  when  we  found  the  house. 
I  was  greeted  most  affectionately  by  my  two  sisters  and  I 
was  happy  enough  to  be  with  them.  At  dinner  time  I 
think  I  astonished  them  all  with  my  appetite.  However, 
the  next  day  my  sister  Harriet,  that  is,  Mrs.  Hillard, 
took  me  to  walk  in  one  of  the  parks,  and  when  we  got 
back  she  said  "  Charley,  I  cannot  go  to  walk  with  you  in 


39 

that  dress,  every  one  was  staring  at  us.  You  are  about 
Jolm's  size,  I  will  get  a  suit  of  his  clothes  for  you  to  wear 
wliile  you  are  here."  Well,  the  next  morning  I  found  a  full 
suit  of  clothes  in  my  room.  They  were  not  a  jull  suit  by 
any  means,  for  the  fashion  was  to  wear  trousers  tight  all 
the  way  down  the  legs.  Everything  fitted  well  enough, 
but  I  felt  very  uncomfortable,  though  Mr.  Hillard  and  my 
sisters  said  they  were  lovely  and  I  looked  fine  in  them. 
We  went  to  walk  and  I  expected  every  minute  to  hear 
them  rip ;  and  when  we  got  home  I  told  my  sister  I  could 
not  go  to  walk  in  those  togs,  for  every  one  was  looking  at 
me.  And  I  did  not  go  again;  I  preferred  to  stay  in  the 
house.  The  ship  was  in  London  for  over  four  weeks  and 
I  took  the  liberty  to  leave  every  Friday  morning  and  stay 
till  ^Monday  with  my  sisters.  They  took  me  to  the  British 
Museum  and  to  the  Tower  of  London  and  through  the 
different  parks.  I  saw  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert,  but 
had  no  conversation  with  them. 

At  last  the  ship  was  ready  for  sea  and  I  bade  my  sisters 
good-bye.  The  weather  was  getting  very  cold,  with  heavy 
fogs  every  day,  so  I  drew  a  month's  wages  and  bought 
some  hea\y  underwear,  for  it  was  now  late  in  November 
and  it  would  be  well  on  in  December  before  we  reached 
home.  We  began  to  realize  the  toughness  of  a  voyage 
westward  as  soon  as  we  left  the  mouth  of  the  Thames. 
Strong  westerly  gales  met  us  and  for  fifteen  days  we  were 
Ideating  in  the  English  Channel  before  we  left  Land's  End 
astern.  We  hardly  had  a  whole  watch  below  during  that 
time.  It  was  "All  hands  shorten  sail,"  or  "All  hands 
tack  ship,"  or  "Make  sail,"  and  we  were  wet  to  the  skin 
most  of  the  time.  Our  clothes  were  all  wet  and  we  would 
take  them  off,  wring  them  out  and  put  on  others  that  were 
less  wet.     After  leaving  the  Channel  we  took  an  easterly 


40 

wind,  and  we  had  a  short  passage  to  Fire  Island,  where 
we  took  a  pilot.  We  were  going  along  finely,  when  all 
hands  were  called  to  shorten  sail ;  and  in  a  short  time  the 
wind  came  out  from  the  northwest.  We  lost  most  of 
our  sails,  and  were  driven  off  into  the  Gulf  Stream,  and 
one  week  afterward,  again  off  Fire  Island,  we  hailed  the 
same  pilot  boat  from  which  we  had  taken  our  pilot  before. 
This  time  we  managed  to  make  Sandy  Hook  and  a  steam 
tug  took  us  to  the  wharf  at  New  York.  I  was  very  glad 
to  get  ashore,  for  it  is  very  hard  to  keep  warm  at  sea  in 
freezing  weather,  especially  when  aloft,  with  the  sails 
half  frozen  and  your  hands  so  stiff  that  you  can  hardly 
hold  on.     There  is  no  fun  in  it. 

Soon  after  I  left  home  for  London  my  brother  William 
came  home  from  China  with  Captain  Nat  Palmer,  in  the 
ship  Paul  Jones.  During  the  voyage  Captain  Palmer 
had  had  a  model  of  a  clipper  ship  made  and  my  brother 
took  him  to  my  brother  Abbot  and  persuaded  him  to 
have  a  ship  built  after  the  model.  It  was  to  be  built  like 
a  man-of-war,  with  solid  bulwarks  and  pierced  for  sixteen 
guns — eight  on  a  side,  the  intention  being  to  sell  her  to  the 
Chinese.  She  was  to  be  very  fast.  This  vessel,  when  I 
returned  from  London,  was  being  built  at  Bell  &  Brown's 
ship-yard. 

After  being  in  New  York  for  a  day  or  two  I  went  down 
to  see  how  much  wages  were  coming  to  me.  I  knew 
there  was  but  very  little,  for  I  had  had  two  months' 
advance  and  another  month's  pay  in  London,  and  the 
voyage  only  lasted  about  two  weeks  over  three  months. 
Yet  I  was  hardly  prepared  for  the  statement  handed  me, 
which  brought  me  in  debt  to  the  ship  for  over  eleven 
dollars.  That  Captain  who  was  so  pleased  to  let  me  go 
and  see  my  sisters,  was  pleased  to  charge  me  one  dollar 


41 

and  fifty  cents  for  every  day  I  was  absent,  Sunday  and 
all,  to  pay  for  a  man  in  my  place.  I  was  getting  along 
famously — I  had  earned  in  fourteen  months  the  enormous 
sum  of  forty-three  dollars.  However,  I  had  a  good  home 
to  go  to,  and  my  father  gave  me  a  fine  suit  of  shore  clothes 
and  I  had  all  the  money  I  wanted  from  my  brothers,  while 
on  shore.  But  after  being  ashore  four  weeks  I  longed 
for  the  sea  again  and  about  the  middle  of  January  I 
shipped  on  board  the  Courier,  Captain  Wolfe,  for  Rio 
Janeiro,  with  the  promise  of  a  tliird  mate's  berth  on  the 
Houqua.  That  was  the  name  of  a  Chinese  merchant, 
a  great  friend  of  my  brothers  and  of  all  Americans,  and 
the  new  ship  was  to  be  named  for  him. 

Pardon  Taylor,  my  most  intimate  friend  and  companion 
for  many  years,  was  so  lonesome  that  he  decided  to  go  to 
sea  with  me.  I  shipped  as  ordinary  seaman  and  Taylor 
shipped  as  boy.  The  Courier  was  a  small  ship  of  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  very  fast,  and  a  beautiful 
sea  boat,  but  after  being  on  board  the  Toronto  it  seemed 
child's  play  to  handle  her  royal  and  topgallant  sails.  She 
also  carried  skysails  and  royal  studding-sails.  Captain 
Wolfe  was  a  very  kind  and  pleasant  man.  He  had  good 
feed,  and  "  watch  and  watch,"  with  a  very  respectable 
crew  of  twelve  men,  four  ordinary  seamen  and  four  boys, 
cook  and  steward  and  two  mates,  carpenter  and  sailmaker. 

We  left  Sandy  Hook  with  cold  weather  and  a  fresh 
westerly  wind  which,  the  second  day  out,  increased  to  a 
heavy  gale  with  a  snowstorm.  The  ship  under  three 
close-reefed  topsails  and  reefed  foresail  ran  before  it,  and 
she  did  beautifully,  and  we  soon  ran  across  the  Gulf 
Stream  and  had  good  weather.  My  friend  Taylor  had  a 
hard  time  of  it;  he  was  fearfully  seasick  and  I  was  afraid 
he  would  not  live.     The  Captain  was  very  kind  and  took 


42 

him  into  the  cabin,  but  he  never  got  over  it  till  we  arrived 
in  Rio  Janeiro,  when  he  went  to  work  and  worked  hard; 
but  as  soon  as  he  got  to  sea  again  he  was  taken  as  sick  as 
ever,  and  on  arriving  in  New  York  he  was  more  dead  than 
alive.  He  afterward  went  to  New  Orleans  to  enter  his 
father's  store.  He  went  by  sea  and  came  near  dying,  so 
that  the  doctors  told  him  he  must  never  try  it  again;  and 
he  never  did.  This  was  one  of  the  worst  cases  of  sea- 
sickness I  ever  heard  of  in  all  my  sea  going. 

We  had  a  very  short  passage  of  thirty-eight  days  to 
Rio  Janeiro,  and  almost  as  soon  as  we  anchored  and  as 
soon  at  the  ship  was  entered  in  the  Custom-house,  we  went 
to  work  discharging  our  cargo  of  some  nine  thousand 
barrels  of  flour.  The  crew  had  to  do  the  most  of  the 
work.  To  show  the  work  we  did,  I  will  say  that  in  eleven 
days  we  discharged  nine  thousand  barrels  of  flour  and 
took  in  some  ten  thousand  sacks  of  coffee.  Negroes  took 
the  coffee  in  and  passed  it  dov\Ti  the  hold.  In  the  daytime 
they  lightered  the  coffee  from  shore  and  we  worked  all 
night  storing  it  away.  This  was  my  third  experience  of 
tough,  hard  work.  The  thermometer  was  over  100°  in 
the  hold,  and  we  had  to  work  mthout  any  clothes,  passing 
or  sliduig  the  heavy  bags  along  greased  planks  to  the  ends 
of  the  ship.  It  became  easier  as  the  ship  filled  up,  but  it 
was  fearfully  hard  work  and  glad  enough  we  were  when 
the  loading  was  completed  and  we  were  given  a  day  on 
shore.  Some  four  or  five  of  us  had  quite  an  experience. 
We  had  been  on  shore  during  the  day  and  evening,  and 
had  become  somewhat  noisy  in  a  saloon,  when  some 
gendarmes  came  and  took  us  on  board  a  Brazilian  re- 
ceiving-ship, where  we  spent  the  rest  of  the  night  and  were 
offered  good  terms  to  enlist  in  the  Brazilian  navy.  But 
we  sent  word  to  the  American  Consul  how  we  had  been 


43 

entrapped,  and  very  soon  the  Consul  and  Captain  Wolfe 
came  on  board  with  our  Protections,  and  took  us  on  board 
the  Courier.  In  those  days  every  American,  before  he 
went  to  sea,  had  to  go  to  the  Custom-house  and  get  a  Pro- 
tection from  the  United  States  Government.  Before  I 
shipped  in  the  Horatio  I  had  been  duly  measured,  and 
stood  five  feet  eleven  and  a  half  inches  in  my  stockings, 
and  that  measurement  with  the  color  of  the  eyes  and  hair 
(and  any  distinguishing  mark),  was  placed  in  this  docu- 
ment. When  I  shipped  it  was  given  to  the  Captain  of 
the  ship  to  take  care  of  and  it  was  lucky  I  had  kept  track 
of  it. 

The  next  day  we  got  under  weigh  and  proceeded  to  sea. 
I  only  remember  one  incident  in  regard  to  the  voyage 
home,  and  that  occurred  in  the  North  Atlantic  just  after 
crossing  the  line.  It  was  quite  calm,  but  there  was  con- 
siderable swell  on.  Two  of  us  were  sent  over  the  bows 
on  a  plank  to  scrape  the  paint  off  near  the  hawse  pipe. 
To  keep  the  stage  close  to  the  bows  we  had  a  line  made 
fast  to  it  and  passed  through  the  hawse  pipe.  We  had 
been  at  work  for  some  time  when  the  breeze  freshened 
and  we  began  to  get  very  near  to  the  water,  and  at  last  the 
mate  called  us  in.  The  ship  was  diving  deeper  every 
minute,  but  to  get  the  stage  in,  the  rope  that  held  it  had  to 
be  cast  off.  So  I  went  over  the  bows  to  cast  it  off,  when 
just  as  I  had  cast  it  clear,  the  ship  gave  a  pitch  and  went 
bows  under,  washing  me  clear  of  the  stage  and  so  high  up 
that  I  caught  the  back  rope  to  the  martingale  and  saved 
myself  from  going  overboard  altogether.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  man  on  the  bows  sang  out  "Man  overboard," 
and  went  aft  with  the  rest  to  square  the  main  yard  to  heave 
the  ship  to,  but  I  was  soon  on  the  forecastle  and  made 
myself  known  before  anything  was  done.     I  had  a  good 


44 

soaking,  but  it  was  warm  weather  and  I  did  not  mind  that. 
However,  it  was  a  narrow  escape  and  the  mate  and 
Captain  congratulated  me. 

We  had  a  longer  passage  home,  of  some  forty-eight  days. 
Light  winds  and  calms  and  a  heavily  laden  ship  delayed 
us.     The  voyage  was  one  of  the  pleasantest  I  ever  made. 

On  my  arrival  I  found  the  Houqua  had  been  launched, 
and  was  being  fitted  for  sea  at  Brown  &  Bell's  ship-yard. 
I  remained  a  few  weeks  at  liberty;  when  my  brother  told 
me  I  was  to  go  as  third  officer  of  the  Houqua  and  wished 
me  to  go  on  duty  at  once.  There  was  a  very  smart  fellow 
on  board  the  Courier  with  me  and  he  wanted  to  go  in 
the  same  ship;  so  I  got  him  a  berth  as  ordinary  seaman, 
and  we  both  went  up  and  reported  to  the  chief  mate  in 
charge.  The  ship  was  taking  in  pig  lead,  as  all  ships 
carried  that  in  the  lower  hold.  The  mate  set  us  to  work 
taking  it  in,  and  we  worked  all  day  at  it,  much  to  my 
disgust.  It  was  nearly  seven  o'clock  when  I  got  home, 
and  I  was  in  a  very  bad  humor,  and  told  my  brother  that 
I  "did  not  care  for  a  third  mate's  berth  if  I  had  got  to 
work  as  a  stevedore  while  in  port.  I  would  rather  go  as 
seaman  and  join  the  ship  when  she  went  to  sea,  and  have 
a  good  time  while  on  shore."  After  I  told  him  what  I 
had  been  set  to  work  at,  he  said  there  must  be  some  mis- 
take and  he  would  see  Captain  Palmer  about  it.  I 
would  not  go  to  the  ship  the  next  day  but  I  went  to  the 
office  and  met  Captain  Palmer  and  he  made  it  all  right. 
Captain  N.  B.  Palmer  was  a  rough  old  sailor.  He  was 
determined  to  see  me  get  along,  and  helped  me  more  than 
any  other  man  to  know  my  duty  as  an  officer  and  to  fit 
me  for  a  master,  so  I  went  to  my  duty  again  and  in  a 
few  days  the  mate  who  had  set  me  to  work  was  discharged 
and  a  new  one  took  his  place. 


45 

The  new  mate,  or  chief  officer,  was  a  very  different  sort 
of  man  from  the  first  one,  who  was  a  very  tall,  large  man 
weighing  over  two  hundred  pounds.  Thomas  Hunt,  who 
took  his  place,  was  a  very  short,  stout  man  and  was 
cross-eyed;  you  could  not  tell  where  he  was  looking. 
He  said  he  was  "  bom  in  the  middle  of  the  week,  looking 
both  ways  for  Sunday."  He  was  every  inch  a  sailor,  a 
strict  disciplinarian  and  yet  full  of  fun  and  very  kind  to 
the  men  as  long  as  they  did  their  duty;  and  men  who 
know  their  duty  will  always  do  it  cheerfully  if  they  are 
treated  like  men.  In  a  short  time  the  ship  was  finished 
as  far  as  the  ship-yard  was  concerned,  and  towed  down 
to  Peck  Slip  to  take  in  a  cargo  for  China.  Times  had 
changed  in  the  short  interval  since  my  coming  home  in 
the  Horatio.  Then  the  ships  went  out  with  almost  no 
cargo  but  lead  and  coal,  and  now  our  ship  was  loaded 
with  pig  lead,  lumber,  cotton  sheetings  and  naval  stores, 
pitch,  tar  and  turpentine.  She  was  full,  so  there  was  no 
between-decks  for  the  sailmaker,  carpenter  and  boys. 
The  boys  had  to  go  in  the  forecastle  with  the  men,  and  a 
house  over  the  main  hatch  was  fitted  up  for  the  third  mate, 
carpenter  and  sailmaker.  It  was  a  good  sized  room  and 
very  comfortable.  I  have  no  data  to  tell  when  we  sailed; 
I  only  remember  that  Captain  N.  B.  Palmer  had  no  su- 
perstition as  to  Friday's  being  a  bad  day  to  sail,  though  at 
that  time  sailors  objected  to  going  to  sea  on  Friday  and 
many  merchants  were  superstitious  enough  to  wait  for 
Saturday  and  even  Sunday  before  sending  their  ships  to 
sea. 

The  Hoiiqua  was  launched  on  Friday,  was  towed  down 
town  on  Friday,  went  to  sea  on  Friday  and  arrived  in 
Hong  Kong  on  Friday,  but  she  was  a  very  lucky  ship 
for  four  years  at  any  rate,  and  whether  these  concidences 


46 

had  anything  to  do  with  her  subsequent  bad  luck  some 
years  after,  I  cannot  say.  Captain  N.  B.  Palmer  was 
Captain,  Thomas  Hunt  chief  mate,  William  Gardner  of 
Boston  second  mate  and  I  third  mate.  We  had  quite 
a  number  of  passengers,  but  I  remember  only  three  who 
were  prominent: — a  Mr.  Goldsmith,  a  Mr.  Squires  and 
Frank  Hillard,  a  younger  brother  of  Mr.  John  Hillard, 
my  brother-in-law.  He  was  a  very  nice  young  man  and 
wrote  very  good  poetry. 

We  had  a  good  send-off  by  our  family  and  a  large 
number  of  friends,  who  went  down  the  bay  with  us. 
After  getting  to  sea,  our  anchors  stowed  and  our  sails  set, 
the  usual  routine  was  gone  through  for  choosing  watches. 
The  Captain  said  but  httle,  but  Mr.  Hunt  had  something 
to  say  to  his  watch.  As  I  have  said,  he  was  cross-eyed, 
and  when  he  told  the  men  to  look  him  straight  in  the  eye 
they  could  not  help  laughing,  and  he  said,  "  All  I  want  to 
tell  you  is,  not  to  try  and  skulk  behind  the  foremast,  for  I 
can  see  right  around  it.     Now  go  below  the  watch." 

I  was  in  the  mate's  watch  and  I  was  glad  I  was,  for 
in  the  night-watches  Mr.  Hunt  would  tell  me  everything 
I  was  to  set  the  men  to  work  at  the  next  day,  and  he  in- 
structed me  in  all  sorts  of  seamanship,  from  turning  in 
a  dead-eye  to  heaving  a  ship  down.  This  latter  informa- 
tion came  in  handy  many  years  after  and  was  of  great 
service  to  me.  As  third  mate  I  was  really  nothing  but 
an  able  seaman;  of  course  I  bossed  the  jobs,  but  I  had 
to  help  do  the  work  the  same  as  any  seaman,  and  I  learned 
more  during  my  voyage  as  third  mate  than  I  had  ever 
known  before.  Besides  teaching  me  seamanship,  Mr. 
Hunt,  with  the  Captain's  knowledge,  had  me  take  my 
quadrant  and  take  the  sun  at  noon  and  work  up  the  lati- 
tude by  observation,  and  find  the  latitude  and  longitude 


47 

by  dead  reckoning.  The  Captain  is  the  only  one  who 
finds  the  longitude  by  the  chronometer.  The  mate  keeps 
the  dead  reckoning  and  compares  it  with  the  Captain's 
observations,  sometimes  every  day — sometimes  no  oftener 
than  once  a  week — it  depends  very  much  how  the  Captain 
and  mate  work  together.  Captain  Palmer  and  Mr.  Hunt 
got  along  splendidly  and  of  course  everything  went  off 
happily. 

In  my  watch  below,  the  passengers  used  to  come  into 
the  "  house  on  deck,"  as  it  was  called,  and  we  would  have 
a  good  smoke  and  spin  yams  and  have  a  good  time  gen- 
erally. 

The  ship  made  a  fine  passage  of  seventy-two  days  to 
Anjer,  where  we  laid  in  a  stock  of  chickens,  turtles,  yams, 
bananas,  oranges  and  mangosteens.  Captain  Palmer  was 
a  believer  in  good  feed,  not  alone  for  the  cabin;  he  be- 
lieved in  giving  the  sailors  the  very  best  of  salt  beef  and 
pork  and  plenty  of  it;  and  everything  else  they  had  to  eat 
was  of  the  very  best.  There  was  no  beef  or  pork  thrown 
overboard  from  that  ship.  Here  we  filled  our  casks  with 
fresh  water  brought  by  natives.  After  doing  this  we  got 
under  weigh  and  proceeded  up  the  China  Sea  and  sailed 
into  Hong  Kong,  eighty-four  days  from  New  York — a 
splendid  passage. 

We  had  been  in  Hong  Kong  but  a  few  days  when  we 
started  for  Whampoa.  After  mooring  ship  the  mate 
ordered  the  quarter  boat,  which  was  styled  the  Captain's 
gig,  as  it  was  only  used  for  him.  As  the  boys  had  had  no 
boating  to  do,  I  was  ordered  to  take  four  of  the  ordinary 
seamen  to  man  the  boat  and  to  go  myself  to  look  after 
them  and  to  steer  the  boat.  It  was  a  great  deal  easier 
for  me  than  when  I  was  there  before  and  had  to  do 
the  rowing.     We  left  the  Captain  in  Canton  and  pulled 


48 

back  to  the  ship  and  that  was  about    the    last    of    my 
boating. 

Captain  Palmer  was  very  fond  of  his  ship  and  would 
rather  live  on  board  at  Whampoa  and  have  company, 
than  stay  in  Canton.  Besides  there  was  a  great  change 
in  the  Captain's  duties.  When  Captain  Howland  was 
there  he  had  much  to  do  with  the  disposing  of  the  cargo 
and  buying  the  return  cargo,  but  now  the  American  houses. 
Russell  &  Co.,  Heard  &  Co.  and  Wetmore  &  Co.  trans- 
acted all  the  business,  and  the  Captain  was  only  really 
wanted  when  the  bills  of  lading  were  to  be  signed.  He 
had  a  room  on  shore  assigned  to  him  and  was  welcome 
to  come  and  stay  as  long  as  he  liked,  and  when  he  did  go 
he  had  a  fast  sampan,  or  Chinese  boat,  to  take  him  up 
and  bring  him  back. 

While  the  Houqua  was  building,  a  beautiful  model  of 
the  ship  was  made  at  the  yard  to  be  presented  to  Houqua, 
the  merchant  for  whom  the  ship  was  named.  My  brothers 
William  and  Edward  were  with  Russell  &  Co.  and  Cap- 
tain Palmer  took  me  with  him  when  he  went  to  present 
the  model  to  Houqua.  Some  three  or  four  others,  of  the 
house  of  Russell  &  Co.,  went  with  us  to  Houqua's  resi- 
dence opposite  Canton  and  we  were  all  received  very 
cordially.  After  the  presentation  was  over  we  were  shown 
over  his  beautiful  gardens  and  then  had  an  elaborate 
lunch,  some  of  it  very  good  indeed,  though  some  did  not 
please  my  fancy.  The  ship  was  built  to  sell  to  the  Chinese 
and  Houqua  was  to  sell  her,  but  she  was  too  small  to  suit 
the  Government  and  so  we  had  to  load  her  and  take  her 
back  to  New  York  again. 

Soon  after  we  arrived  in  Whampoa,  the  Montauk  ar- 
rived. She  was  the  second  clipper  built,  and  a  very 
beautiful  ship  too,  just  about  the  size  of  the  Houqua, 


49 

and  it  was  hard  to  tell  which  was  the  handsomer.  Cap- 
tain McMichaels  commanded  her.  He  was  a  jolly  old 
fellow  and  very  fond  of  using  big  words.  One  day  he 
had  a  large  party  from  Canton  to  dine  with  him;  it  was 
shortly  after  canned  oysters,  clams  and  vegetables  came 
into  use,  and  he  had  some  green  peas  and  other  vegetables 
on  the  table.  During  the  dinner,  they  being  much  praised, 
Captain  McMichaels  said,  "Yes,  gentlemen,  those  vege- 
tables were  put  up  in  tin  cans  and  diametrically  sealed." 
Every  one  knew  the  Captain  meant  hermetically  sealed, 
but  they  had  to  laugh. 

All  the  ships  had  to  lie  a  long  time  in  port,  and  after 
the  rigging  was  overhauled  and  tarred  down  and  all  was 
painted  aloft,  the  hull  was  painted  inside  and  out,  the  deck 
holystoned  as  white  as  snow,  and  then  everything  was  kept 
in  splendid  order.  They  said  that  Captain  McMichaels 
kept  his  decks  so  white  that  any  one  coming  on  board  was 
followed  by  a  boy  with  a  wet  swab  to  wipe  up  any  foot- 
prints. 

This  puts  me  in  mind  of  a  nice  little  time  we  once  had 
on  the  Houqua,  one  Saturday  afternoon,  late,  when  we 
had  just  finished  holystoning  the  decks  and  the  paint  on 
the  bulwarks  was  hardly  dry.  The  second  mate  had  a 
fifty  pound  keg  of  black  paint  in  the  paint  locker  on  one 
side  of  the  bowsprit,  under  the  topgallant  forecastle. 
Unfortunately  the  sailors  owned  a  large  Borneo  monkey 
or  baboon,  and  he  had  been  made  fast  on  the  bowsprit 
within  reach  of  the  paint.  Like  a  monkey,  always  full  of 
mischief,  he  upset  the  bucket  of  paint,  wliich  ran  down 
the  scuppers  as  far  as  the  mainmast  over  the  clean  white 
deck.  The  second  mate,  as  soon  as  it  was  found  out, 
caught  the  monkey  and  swabbed  the  paint  up  with  him 
till  he  would  hold  no  more,  and  then  threw  him  overboard, 


50 

but  this  made  bad  worse,  for  the  monkey  caught  the  side 
ladder  hanging  over  by  the  main  rigging  and  came  up, 
and  before  any  one  could  stop  him,  ran  the  whole  length 
of  the  bulwarks,  leaving  the  black  paint  all  over  the  fresh 
straw-colored  paint,  and  making  an  awful  mess.  The 
man  who  owned  him  caught  him  and  hurried  him  into  the 
forecastle,  but  it  was  "All  hands  to  clean  ship";  for  the 
decks  had  to  be  scraped  and  wiped  off  and  then  painted 
again,  for  Sunday  must  find  the  ship  in  perfect  order. 
As  for  the  monkey,  the  men  turned  to  and  shaved  him 
clean  and  he  was  the  worst  looking  animal  that  was  ever 
seen.  The  second  mate  was  as  mad  a  man  as  could  be  for 
a  time,  but  he  soon  got  over  it  after  the  ship  was  to  rights 
again,  and  he  never  molested  the  monkey,  who  was  a 
great  pet. 

In  connection  with  the  Montauk  I  must  mention  a  dream 
I  had  and  its  remarkable  fulfilment.  It  was  on  our  way 
up  the  China  Sea.  I  dreamed  that  we  were  bound  home 
and  running  a  race  with  the  Montauh.  The  second  mate 
was  sick  and  laid  up  in  his  room  and  I  had  to  stand  his 
watch.  At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  came  on  deck  to 
relieve  the  mate,  Mr.  Hunt.  There  was  very  little  wind 
and  he  told  me  that  I  must  look  out,  as  squalls  came  up 
with  little  warning.  Soon  after  he  left  the  deck  the  wind 
hauled  ahead  and  I  braced  the  yards  forward.  I  had  no 
sooner  got  the  yards  trimmed  than  I  had  to  brace  again, 
and  then  again  for  the  third  time.  The  wind  was  still 
very  light,  but  before  we  had  finished  bracing  the  main 
yards — I  had  the  main  brace  in  my  hand,  slacking  away — 
I  heard  the  wind  whistling  and  I  sung  out,  "Let  go  the 
skysail  and  royal  halyards."  At  that  minute  the  Captain 
and  mate  rushed  out  of  the  cabin  and  some  one  sung  out 
that  the  main -topgallant  mast  was  carried  away.     I  said. 


51 

"It  is  not  the  main-topgallant  mast;  it  can't  be."  As 
soon  as  I  said  it,  I  dropped  the  main  brace  and  could  not 
say  another  word. 

The  next  day  I  told  the  second  mate,  the  steward, 
carpenter  and  sailmaker  of  my  dream  and  thought  no 
more  of  it.  Four  or  five  months  after  this  we  were  on  our 
way  home  and  we  were  running  a  race  with  the  Montauk, 
and  the  second  mate  was  laid  up  and  I  was  standing  his 
watch,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  relieved  him. 
The  weather  was  hazy,  the  wind  hght,  and  I  braced  the 
yards  three  times;  the  third  time  a  squall  struck  the 
ship.  I  sung  out,  "  Let  go  the  skysail  and  royal  halyards." 
The  Captain  and  Mr.  Hunt  rushed  on  deck,  and  some  one 
sang  out  that  the  main -topgallant  mast  was  gone,  and  I 
said,  "It  is  not  the  main -topgallant  mast;  it  can't  be," 
and  I  dropped  the  rope  in  my  hand  and  could  not  say 
another  word,  for  then  I  remembered  my  dream.  I  was 
soon  brought  to  my  senses,  however,  by  the  mate's  sending 
me  aloft  with  the  men  to  send  down  the  wreck.  I  had  to 
go  down  to  the  second  mate's  room  to  get  some  spun  yarn 
and  he  said,  "Well,  Low,  your  dream  has  come  true." 
All  to  whom  I  had  told  it  remembered  it,  and  the  mate 
told  the  Captain,  and  so  I  got  off  very  easy,  as  it  was  bound 
to  be  and  no  one  could  have  liindered  it.  The  accident 
occurred  in  or  near  the  place  where  I  had  had  the  dream. 
How  can  any  one  account  for  such  a  dream  ?  I  had 
forgotten  it  completely,  so  it  was  of  no  use  as  a  warning 
and  did  not  save  the  spar.  However,  dreams  of  all  kinds 
are  a  puzzle.  Later  on  I  shall  tell  of  a  dream  that  prob- 
ably saved  the  ship  I  was  then  in  and  the  lives  of  all  on 
board. 

The  cargo  all  being  on  board,  we  got  under  weigh  and 
proceeded  down  the  river.     As  usual,  a  number  of  ships 


52 

sent  a  boat's  crew  on  board  to  help  us,  and  fifteen  or  twenty 
sampans  towed  us  across  the  second  bar,  where  we  made 
sail  and  sent  off  the  boats.  We  had  for  passengers  my 
brother  Wilham,  Mr.  Dow,  Mr.  Perkms,  Mr.  Battelle 
and  Mr.  Burdett.  Mr.  Dow,  on  a  voyage  from  India, 
had  been  sunstruck  and  his  mind  was  affected.  The 
other  passengers  were  a  jolly  set  of  fellows  and  kept  up  a 
lively  pace  all  the  way  home.  They  had  plenty  of  liquor 
on  board  and  almost  every  evening  they  would  get  on 
deck  and  would  sing  songs  and  spin  yams  till  ten  o'clock, 
when  they  had  to  retire,  for  no  lights  were  allowed  after 
that.  Captain  Palmer  would  always  absent  himself  till 
they  got  through  their  fun,  but  he  never  objected,  but  let 
them  enjoy  themselves. 

We  had  a  very  pleasant  passage,  stopping  at  St.  Helena 
for  a  short  time  for  water  and  sheep  and  vegetables. 
Our  carpenter  wanted  to  get  a  brick  from  Napoleon's 
grave,  and  a  negro  boatman  told  him  he  would  fetch  him 
one  for  a  dollar,  which  he  gave  to  him.  In  about  half  an 
hour  a  brick  was  brought,  probably  the  first  one  the  negro 
found  on  shore,  for  it  takes  at  least  four  hours  to  go  to 
Longwood  and  of  course  the  guard  would  not  have  let 
him  have  one  from  there.  I  told  the  carpenter  he  could 
get  just  as  good  a  brick  in  New  York  that  would  answer 
the  purpose  as  well,  but  the  old  fellow  was  satisfied  and 
could  tell  his  friends  with  a  better  conscience  that  it  was 
a  veritable  brick  from  Napoleon's  last  resting  place. 

This  voyage  throughout  had  been  a  school  for  me  in 
navigation  and  seamanship.  The  mate  had  done  all  he 
could  to  put  me  forward.  As  I  was  only  a  seaman  in 
reality  I  worked  with  the  men,  and  I  was  on  good  terms 
with  them.  They  were  all  good  sailors;  and  I  could  now 
turn^in  a  dead-eye  and  clap  on  a  seizing  as  well  as  most 


53 

of  them,  and  besides,  I  was  getting  great  confidence  in 
myself  in  regard  to  taking  care  of  the  ship,  as  I  kept  the 
second  mate's  watch  for  more  than  six  weeks. 

From  St.  Helena  we  made  good  time  up  to  Barnegat, 
where  we  took  a  pilot  the  last  of  March.  It  was  Sunday 
morning  and  with  a  light  breeze  we  were  going  up  towards 
the  Hook.  Just  after  breakfast  Mr.  Battelle  came  on 
deck  all  dressed  up  in  his  best  clothes,  new  silk  hat  and 
white  kid  gloves.  The  second  mate  said,  "  Hallo !  Where 
you  going  to  ?  "  Battelle  said  he  was  going  to  church  if 
the  ship  got  to  New  York  in  time.  But  he  was  slightly 
mistaken,  for  the  pilot  began  to  give  orders  to  shorten 
sail,  and  the  second  mate  told  Mr.  Battelle  that  if  he  saw 
New  York  m  a  week,  he  would  be  lucky,  as  a  nor' wester 
was  coming  out.  And  sure  enough  we  were  soon  under 
close-reefed  topsails  with  a  gale  blowing  right  in  our  teeth. 
Poor  Battelle  cursed  the  second  mate  and  wished  he 
might  meet  with  a  nor' wester  every  time  he  came  home; 
and  then  he  went  below  and  we  did  not  see  him  again  till 
we  got  to  Sandy  Hook  three  days  afterwards.  This  was 
the  second  time  I  had  been  blown  off  to  sea  when  it  seemed 
that  a  few  hours  would  have  put  us  into  port  in  safety. 

During  the  voyage  tliis  Battelle  had  played  many  tricks 
upon  the  simple-minded  Mr.  Dow,  who  had  not  said  a 
word,  but  when  we  got  off  Staten  Island,  waiting  for  the 
Custom-house  officer,  (I  was  in  the  cabin  with  two  men, 
getting  out  the  trunks,  and  Captain  Palmer  was  also  there 
with  all  the  passengers)  Mr.  Dow  called  to  Mr.  Battelle 
and  told  him  he  was  a  great  scoundrel  and  that  he  must 
get  down  on  his  knees  and  beg  his  pardon  for  all  the  tricks 
he  had  played  upon  him,  or  else  go  ashore  and  fight  with 
pistols.  He  said  he  had  taken  everything  quietly  during 
the  voyage,  so  as  not  to  have  any  trouble,  but  now  he  was 


54 

going  to  have  satisfaction.  Poor  Battelle  was  frightened 
and  got  down  on  his  knees  and  asked  pardon ;  said  he  had 
meant  nothing,  but  wanted  a  Httle  fun.  Mr.  Battelle 
and  Mr.  Dow  were  two  very  large  men.  It  was  a  great 
surprise  to  see  Mr.  Battelle  show  the  white  feather.  He 
was  supposed  to  be  a  great  pugilist,  but  he  fell  in  every 
one's  estimation  and  Captain  Palmer  would  not  have 
anything  to  say  to  him.  Poor  Mr.  Dow  had  to  go  to  an 
insane  asylum  and  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  was  still  there, 
some  fifty  years  after  he  came  home.  We  made  the 
passage  home  in  something  under  ninety  days  and  beat 
the  Montauk. 

I  was  now  made  second  mate,  with  Mr.  Hunt  as  chief 
mate  and  Captain  Alexander  Palmer  as  captain.  Captain 
Nat  stayed  on  shore  to  superintend  the  building  of  a  new 
clipper  to  be  called  the  Samuel  Russell,  and  to  be  twice  as 
large  as  the  Houqua.  We  left  New  York  about  the  middle 
of  May  for  China,  with  a  cargo  of  cotton  goods  and  lum- 
ber, but  no  passengers.  Nothing  unusual  occurred.  I 
got  along  very  well  as  second  mate,  but  towards  the  end 
of  the  voyage  the  Captain  got  dissatisfied  with  Mr.  Hunt. 
The  trouble  began  in  the  Indian  Ocean.  When  we  left 
New  York  it  looked  as  though  the  United  States  would 
have  war  with  England.  One  day  as  we  were  running 
our  easting  down  we  saw  a  ship  ahead  at  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  It  was  a  fine  day  and  Mr.  Hunt  was  going 
to  give  a  salute  at  noontime.  For  some  reason  we  had 
all  our  eight  ports  triced  up,  though  we  only  had  two  nine 
pounders.  These  were  run  out  the  bow  ports  and  loaded. 
A  few  minutes  before  twelve  o'clock  we  were  within  a 
half  mile  of  the  stranger,  who  hoisted  Enghsh  colors. 
At  twelve  we  hauled  up  our  mainsail  and  fired  one  of  the 
guns  and  ran  up  our  colors.     We  were  nearly  alongside 


55 

of  the  Englishman  who  was  hauling  in  his  studding- 
sails  and  shortening  sail  as  fast  as  he  could,  evidently 
tliinking  there  was  war  between  the  two  countries  and 
intending  to  surrender.  When  the  captain  spoke  him  and 
told  him  we  were  the  American  ship  Houqua  from  New 
York,  bound  to  China,  a  merchant  ship  like  himself,  he 
was  mad  as  a  hornet  and  would  have  nothing  to  say 
to  us,  but  gave  orders  to  make  sail  again.  We  fired  twelve 
guns,  and  Mr.  Hunt,  to  show  how  smart  we  were,  gave 
orders  to  haul  aboard  the  main  tack  and  aft  sheet  at  the 
same  time,  and  let  go  all  the  gear  at  once.  This  the 
Captain  laid  up  against  him  as  an  attempt  to  lose  the  sail, 
although  he  ought  to  have  known  there  was  no  danger,  as 
the  breeze  was  light  and  the  men  had  the  sail  set  in  a  very 
short  time.  But  Captain  Palmer  tended  to  be  suspicious 
and  could  not  bear  to  see  two  or  three  men  talking  to- 
gether; he  was  apt  to  imagine  they  were  talking  against 
him.  It  was  a  great  mistake,  for  he  was  a  perfect  gentle- 
man and  a  first-rate  sailor,  and  the  best  of  navigators. 
He  was  the  only  captain  I  sailed  with,  who  took  lunar 
observations  and  taught  me  how  to  work  them  up. 

Everything  went  on  smoothly,  however,  till  just  before 
reaching  Anjer.  I  wished  to  send  a  letter  home  from 
there  and  one  morning  when  I  had  my  watch  below,  I 
went  into  the  cabin  and  asked  the  Captain  to  let  me  have 
two  or  three  sheets  of  letter  paper,  as  I  had  none.  Of 
course  I  took  off  my  hat  when  I  went  in,  as  in  duty  bound. 
The  Captain  said  nothing  to  me  at  the  time,  but  a  few  days 
after,  Mr.  Hunt  called  me  and  wanted  to  know  what  I 
had  been  doing.  He  said  the  Captain  had  been  finding  a 
great  deal  of  fault,  saying  that  I  went  into  the  cabin  for 
writing  paper  and  took  off  my  hat,  just  as  though  I  had 
no  right  to  go  in.     I  laughed  at  the  idea  and  afterwards 


56 

I  spoke  to  the  Captain  and  told  him  what  Mr.  Hunt  had 
said.  I  told  him  I  had  been  brought  up  to  show  respect 
to  my  superiors,  and  should  feel  as  though  I  were  very 
impertinent  to  keep  my  hat  on  when  going  into  the  cabin. 
He  made  some  comment  on  Mr.  Hunt's  behavior,  which 
I  do  not  recall.  Mr.  Hunt  was  a  jolly  fellow  and  apt  to 
make  too  free  with  such  a  man  as  Captain  Alexander 
Palmer,  though  Captain  Nat  Palmer  rather  enjoyed  his 
wit  and  stories. 

Well,  things  went  on  till  we  got  to  China  and  the  cargo 
was  all  discharged.  Then  Mr.  Hunt  came  to  me  and 
told  me  that  he  was  going  to  leave  the  ship ;  that  the  Captain 
had  said  as  much  as  that  he  had  better  leave,  and  he  would 
not  stay  where  he  was  not  wanted.  I  told  him  if  he  left  I 
would  leave  too,  but  he  told  me  not  to  do  it,  but  to  stay 
by  the  ship,  though  not  to  go  second  mate  under  any  mate 
who  could  be  had  in  China.  My  brother  Edward  was  in 
Russell  &  Co.'s,  and  he  also  told  me  not  to  leave  the  ship, 
so  I  stayed.  A  few  days  after,  when  the  men  were  at 
dinner,  the  Captain  called  me  below  and  asked  me  how  I 
liked  the  change.  I  asked  him  what  change  ?  and  he  said 
Mr.  Hunt's  leaving.  I  informed  him  that  I  was  very 
sorry;  that  Mr.  Hunt  was  thought  very  much  of  at  home 
and  also  that  I  should  not  go  as  second  mate  under  any 
man  picked  up  in  China.  He  asked  me  if  I  felt  competent 
to  go  as  mate  ?  I  told  him  that  matter  was  for  him  to 
judge.  He  wanted  to  know  if  I  was  well  up  in  navigation, 
as  mates  had  to  be  able  to  navigate  the  ship  if  anything 
happened  to  the  Captain.  I  told  him  I  was  well  able  to 
find  the  position  of  the  ship  by  observation,  and  thought 
I  could  take  the  ship  to  any  port  of  the  world.  "  If  that 
is  so,"  he  said,  "I  am  confident  that  your  seamanship 
is   good   enough;   you   are    first   mate   from   to-day;  and 


57 

whom  shall  we  get  for  second  mate  ? "  I  told  him  I 
would  make  inquiries,  and  before  the  next  day  I  found 
a  first-rate  man.  Mr.  Hunt  ran  foul  of  him  and  told  me 
of  him,  and  Captain  Palmer  engaged  him.  I  have  for- 
gotten his  name,  but  he  was  A  No.  1.  Here  I  was  after 
one  voyage  as  third  mate,  and  only  about  four  months  as 
second  mate,  promoted  to  a  chief  mate's  berth  on  one  of 
the  finest  ships  afloat ;  and  I  was  only  a  little  over  twenty 
years  of  age.  I  was  determined  that  I  would  keep  the 
position,  if  hard  work  and  a  strict  attention  to  my  duties 
would  do  it. 

Shortly  after  this  we  took  in  a  load  of  cotton  goods  and 
sailed  for  Shanghai.  The  navigation  of  the  Yang-tse 
River  to  Woosung  was  very  different,  as  the  river  had  not 
been  well  surveyed  as  yet,  the  port  of  Shanghai  having 
been  opened  to  foreigners  only  a  short  time.  We  met  with 
no  trouble,  and  arrived  safely  and  discharged  our  cargo, 
and  took  in  a  cargo  of  tea.  As  it  was  not  packed  in  such 
packages  as  they  sent  from  Canton,  we  were  to  go  back 
to  Whampoa  and  unload,  and  fill  up  with  Canton-packed 
teas.  We  had  quite  a  large  number  of  passengers,  most 
of  them  to  go  to  Chusan,  an  island  in  the  archipelago, 
some  distance  to  the  southeast  of  the  mouth  of  the  Yang- 
tse  River.  We  dropped  down  the  river  to  Woosung  all 
right,  but  where  the  river  intersects  the  Yang-tse  there 
were  a  number  of  junks  assembled.  The  Captain  was  on 
the  quarter  deck,  while  I  was  stationed  on  the  forecastle. 
I  had  the  quarter  boat  under  the  bows,  to  run  lines  if 
necessary  to  haul  the  ship  one  way  or  another.  All  at 
once  I  heard  the  cry  of  "The  Captain  is  overboard!" 
I  immediately  ordered  the  boat  to  go  to  the  stern,  and  the 
men  made  such  good  time  that  they  reached  the  Captain 
before  he  sank  the  second  time.     He  had  been  trying  to 


58 

pry  off  a  junk's  anchor  stock  which  was  foul  of  our  davits, 
when  the  handspike  shpped  and  let  him  fall  overboard. 
He  had  a  bad  fall  and  was  very  considerably  shaken  up 
and  was  quite  sick;  there  was  a  doctor  on  board  who 
said  he  must  remain  in  bed.  He  called  me  to  him  and 
told  me  I  must  take  charge  of  the  ship  for  the  present  and 
take  her  to  Chusan.  He  gave  me  directions  and  showed 
me  the  chart  and  how  I  was  to  proceed,  warning  me  to 
be  very  careful  as  the  tides  were  very  rapid  and  needed 
close  watching.  The  pilot  had  charge  of  the  ship  just 
then  and  after  clearing  the  junks  we  proceeded  down 
the  river.  The  tide  turning  about  six  p.m.  we  came  to  an 
anchor  for  the  night,  giving  me  a  chance  to  study  the 
situation,  and  I  felt  confident  that  I  could  navigate  the 
ship  safely.  The  captain  gave  me  all  the  advice  he  could, 
and  at  six  a.m.  we  got  under  way  and  proceeded  on  our 
course. 

I  discharged  the  pilot  and  left  the  river.  I  soon  found 
the  current  was  running  nearly  eight  miles  an  hour,  partly 
in  my  favor,  but  I  had  to  haul  up  some  four  points  more 
to  the  eastward.  I  made  the  island  in  good  time  and 
came  to  anchor  all  right,  much  to  the  Captain's  delight 
and  mine,  too.  We  moored  ship  with  forty-five  fathoms 
on  one  anchor  and  thirty  fathoms  on  the  other.  We  lay 
there  twenty-four  hours,  discharged  our  passengers  and 
the  Captain  being  better,  started  to  get  under  weigh,  but 
we  had  a  job  before  us.  The  ship  had  been  turning  round 
and  round  and  had  wound  the  cables  up  as  far  as  we  could 
see.  Generally  in  mooring  to  remain  any  time  we  have  a 
mooring  shackle,  which  turns  round  every  time  the  ship 
does;  and  we  have  both  chains  shackled  to  it,  and  then 
cast  off  one  chain  and  hold  with  a  single  cable  attached  to 
the  upper  part  of  the  shackle.     It  was  a  long  job  and  a  hard 


59 

one,  as  we  had  to  lash  the  two  chains  together  and  with  a 
boat  take  in  one  chain  and  haul  it  round  and  round, 
taking  the  turns  out,  then  shackle  it  again  and  heave  m 
by  the  windlass  till  we  got  more  of  the  chain  above  water, 
and  then  proceed  as  before.  It  took  us  most  of  the  day 
to  clear  hawse,  and  it  was  nearly  dark  before  we  got  under 
weigh  for  Hong  Kong.  We  arrived  at  Hong  Kong  and 
then  proceeded  up  the  river  to  Whampoa,  where  we  dis- 
charged the  Shanghai  tea  to  be  repacked.  Canton  fashion. 

About  a  month  later  we  took  in  our  cargo  for  New  York 
and  I  recall  nothing  to  relate  on  the  voyage  home.  I  ap- 
peared to  please  the  Captain,  and  we  had  no  trouble  with 
the  men.  Captain  Palmer  took  pleasure  in  teaching  me  to 
work  lunars,  and  he  took  them  very  often;  he  was  well 
up  in  the  higher  branches  of  navigation  and  I  learned 
very  much  from  him.  While  I  was  with  him  he  seemed 
very  feeble  and  not  long  for  this  life,  but  he  outlived  both 
of  his  brothers  and  reached  the  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
two  years.  After  arri%ang  in  New  York  he  left  the  ship, 
and  Captain  Nat  Palmer  took  command.  Of  course  I 
was  a  little  uncertain  whether  I  should  be  retained  as 
chief  mate,  but  Captain  Nat  soon  assured  me  that  I  was 
to  go  with  him  in  that  capacity. 

I  had  been  at  home  but  four  weeks  when,  the  ship  being 
loaded,  we  left  again  for  China,  Captain  Palmer  taking 
his  wife  and  a  niece  of  his.  Miss  Fanning.  She  was  a 
very  pleasant  girl  and  I  was  very  glad  to  have  her  com- 
pany in  the  first  watch,  from  eight  to  ten  p.m.,  a  pleasure 
which  she  often  gave  me  in  fine  weather. 

Nothing  unusual  happened;  everything  went  off  very 
well.  Captain  Palmer  evidently  intended  that  I  should  be 
master  of  the  ship  as  soon  as  possible,  for  he  made  me  take 
observations  of  the  sun  for  longitude  by  the  chronometer, 


60 

and  mark  out  the  ship's  position  on  the  chart,  and  give 
the  course  the  ship  should  be  sailed,  and  sometimes  he 
would  take  no  observation  himself  but  work  out  mine. 
Now  the  captain  is  the  one  who  puts  the  ship  about,  but 
very  often  when  it  had  to  be  done  Captain  Nat  would  say, 
"Mr.  Low,  put  the  ship  about,"  and  then  he  would  go 
below  till  it  was  done.  In  fact  he  left  me  sole  master  of 
the  deck  and  I  had  to  make  sail  or  take  it  in  without  call- 
ing him.  He  was  very  passionate.  In  calm  weather  he 
would  come  on  deck,  with  an  old  white  beaver  hat  on, 
take  it  off  and  stamp  on  it  and  "damn"  the  calm  and 
everything  else,  but  he  never  abused  the  men. 

When  running  down  our  easting  one  day  we  were  under 
close-reefed  topsails  and  foresail,  and  the  ship  was  rolling 
fearfully.  About  seven  p.m.  I  had  the  watch  and  the  Cap- 
tain put  his  head  out  of  the  cabin  scuttle  and  asked  me  how 
the  weather  was.  I  told  him  it  was  more  moderate  just 
then,  but  I  thought  it  would  blow  again  at  eight  o'clock. 
He  then  said,  "Mr.  Low,  shake  the  reefs  out  of  the  main 
topsail;  set  the  main-topgallant  sail  and  main-royal  and 
let  her  roll  over  ship  shape  and  Bristol  fashion,  with  all  her 
canvas  on  her!"  and  then  darted  below.  At  eight  p.m., 
as  I  expected,  it  began  to  blow  hard  again  and  the  Captain 
put  his  head  out  of  the  scuttle  and  called  out,  "Mr.  Low, 
take  in  the  main-royal,  the  main -topgallant  sail  and 
close  reef  the  main-topsail,  and  let  her  roll  over  and  be 
damned  to  her!"  And  down  he  went  again.  It  was  very 
wet  and  very  cold  on  deck  and  he  preferred  the  cabin, 
but  if  it  was  necessary  he  could  stand  any  fatigue  and 
exposure,  and  I  was  quite  sure  his  object  in  retiring  was  to 
teach  me  confidence  in  myself,  and  also  to  give  me  ex- 
perience. In  fact,  as  far  as  carrying  on  the  work  of  the 
ship  and  sailing  her  was  concerned,  I  was  the  Captain. 


61 

We  had  a  very  pleasant  voyage  and  a  good  one,  stopping 
at  Anjer  and  going  up  the  China  Sea  to  Hong  Kong  and 
then  to  Whampoa  to  load  for  New  York.  We  had  to 
wait  some  two  or  three  months  before  securing  a  cargo, 
and  Captain  Palmer  had  one  of  the  quarter  boats  fitted 
with  sails  and  would  spend  a  good  deal  of  his  time  sailing 
around  with  his  wife  and  Miss  Fanning,  but  sometimes 
he  would  ffo  to  Canton  for  a  week  and  leave  me  to  take 
his  wife  and  niece  out  for  a  sail,  which  I  enjoyed  very 
much.  As  I  was  chief  mate  I  had  no  work  to  attend  to 
after  the  cargo  was  out.  I  gave  my  orders  to  the  second 
mate  and  he  carried  on  the  work,  and  as  I  always  took 
my  meals  with  the  Captain,  no  matter  how  much  company 
he  had,  I  was  always  dressed  neatly  and  was  as  much  of  a 
gentleman  as  the  Captain.  My  brother  Edward  was  a 
partner  in  the  house  of  Russell  &  Co.,  and  Saturday  after- 
noons he  would  come  down  to  the  ship  and  stay  over 
Sunday,  sometimes  bringing  two  or  three  or  more  young 
men  with  him,  and  we  would  have  a  good  time  together; 
in  fact  there  was  hardly  a  day  without  company. 

We  at  last  began  to  take  in  teas,  and  my  time  had  come 
to  go  to  work,  as  I  had  to  take  account  of  all  the  chests 
that  came  on  board,  and  it  required  a  sharp  lookout  to 
see  that  the  Chinese  boatmen  did  not  cheat.  Every  chest 
that  came  through  the  port  had  a  tally  stick  about  a  foot 
long  stuck  in  the  rattans;  this  was  taken  out  by  the  man 
near  the  port,  and  when  he  had  received  ten  of  them 
he  would  sing  out  "Tally!"  and  I  would  mark  it  down. 
The  Chinese  boatmen  would  try  and  stick  two  bamboos 
in  one  chest,  but  with  a  smart  young  man  to  look  out 
there  was  not  much  danger,  though  he  had  to  keep  his 
eyes  open. 

After  the  ship  was  loaded  the  Captain  went  to  Canton 


62 

to  sign  the  bills  of  lading,  and  while  he  was  gone  the 
running  rigging  was  rove,  sails  bent  and  the  ship  got 
ready  for  sea:  and  as  soon  as  the  Captain  came  back  we 
were  ready  to  unmoor  and  sail  for  home. 

As  on  the  voyage  out  so  it  was  going  home.  The  Cap- 
tain left  the  working  of  the  ship  to  me;  and  I  also  had 
opportunities  to  work  the  sights  for  longitude  by  chrono- 
meter; in  fact  I  was  well  able  to  take  command,  though 
I  was  not  to  be  Captain  just  yet,  nor  did  I  expect  to  be. 

We  arrived  in  New  York  late  in  March,  had  quite  a 
blow  off  the  coast,  and  came  near  losing  some  of  our  sails. 
Captain  Nat  had  a  great  way  of  taking  command  of  a 
ship  when  she  was  new  and  everything  was  in  good  shape, 
and  so  he  sailed  her  at  little  expense.  Then  he  would 
turn  her  over  to  some  other  Captain  who  would  be  obliged 
to  buy  a  lot  of  running  rigging  and  new  sails  and  thus 
run  up  a  number  of  big  bills.  It  was  now  the  Houqua's 
third  voyage  and  hardly  anything  had  been  replaced  since 
the  first  one;  the  ropes  were  giving  out  and  as  I  said, 
we  came  near  losing  our  sails  from  the  ropes'  parting. 
The  Captain  said  nothing,  but  when  we  were  preparing 
for  another  voyage  and  Captain  Nat  told  me  that  his 
brother  Theodore  would  take  charge,  I  resolved  to  tell 
him  how  the  rigging  was  worn  out  and  I  did.  He  said 
he  knew  his  brother  well,  and  that  he  would  have  every- 
thing good  if  he  was  going  to  take  command.  I  gave 
him  a  list  of  the  new  ropes  wanted  and  he  bought  them. 
The  day  the  riggers  were  bending  sails,,  most  of  the  new 
rope  that  was  being  rove  was  on  the  mainsail  and  topsail 
right  in  the  gangway,  and  it  made  a  big  show.  Captain 
Theodore  was  standing  near  when  Captain  Nat  put  in  an 
appearance,  and  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  new  rope  he  began 
to  swear  and  said  they  would  have  to  sell  the  ship  to  pay 


63 

expenses,  and  he  ordered  the  ropes  to  be  unrove  and  the 
old  ones  put  in  their  places.  But  I  stepped  in  and  told 
Captain  Nat  that  he  knew  that  the  ropes  were  not  fit  to 
haul  the  sails  up  wnth,  and  that  we  came  near  losing  the 
mainsail  and  main-topsail  just  before  coming  in.  He 
calmed  down  and  told  his  brother  to  change  them  as 
soon  as  he  got  into  fine  weather;  but  his  brother  had  an 
ugly  temper  and  they  had  a  fight  about  expenses  almost 
every  day  till  he  went  to  sea. 

Captain  Theodore  Palmer  was  much  younger  than  his 
brothers  and  was  a  harder  man  to  get  along  with.  He 
had  been  in  the  Liverpool  packets  most  of  his  life  and 
had  had  hard  men  to  deal  with  and  he  looked  upon 
sailors  as  mere  brutes,  to  be  dealt  with  as  such.  But  we 
had  a  good  crew,  as  most  "  Indiamen  "  had  in  those  days 
and  he  realized  that  they  were  superior  and  better  than 
the  "hoosiers"  he  had  been  used  to,  and  improved  in  his 
treatment  very  much. 

I  got  along  with  him  very  well  and  he  seemed  very 
much  pleased  with  my  work  as  chief  mate.  When  he 
first  saw  me  he  supposed  I  knew  little  or  nothing,  but 
that  I  had  been  advanced  by  favor  of  his  brother,  and 
that  he  would  have  to  be  master  and  mate  too.  But  he 
soon  found  out  that  I  wanted  no  favors,  and  would  take 
no  advantage  of  my  relationship  to  the  owners.  This 
pleased  him  very  much  and  he  became  quite  sociable  with 
me,  and  asked  me  many  questions  about  the  trade  winds 
and  weather  during  the  trip,  for  he  had  never  been  south 
of  the  line,  and  I  helped  him  very  much  in  making  a  short 
passage.  There  was  nothing  of  interest  in  the  voyage  out. 
We  made  a  good  passage  and  after  the  usual  waiting  for  a 
cargo  filled  up  and  sailed  for  home. 

We  had  four  or  five  passengers.     One   was  Captain 


64 

Harding,  an  old  opium  skipper.  He  was  a  splendid  speci- 
men of  a  man,  over  six  feet  in  height  and  stout  in  propor- 
tion. I  think  he  weighed  some  two  hundred  and  eighty 
pounds  or  more.  He  had  a  magnificent  Newfoundland 
dog  which  would  do  almost  anytliing  his  master  told  him 
to  do.  Then  we  had  a  missionary,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Doty, 
who  was  going  home  after  having  buried  his  third  wife 
in  Amoy.  He  had  in  charge  a  lovely  boy  of  four  or 
five  years,  George  Pohlman,  an  orphan  placed  with  Mr. 
Doty  to  bring  up.  He  did  not  intend  to  spare  the  rod  in 
doing  it,  for  almost  every  night  he  gave  the  boy  a  thrashing, 
sometimes  for  what  he  had  done,  and  sometimes  for  what 
he  might  do  the  next  day,  till  one  evening  I  went  into  the 
cabin  and  told  the  reverend  gentleman  that  he  must  stop 
whipping  that  boy  or  I  would  thrash  him  every  time  I 
caught  him  at  it.  The  voyage  home  was  the  same  as 
most  voyages,  fine  pleasant  saihng  most  of  the  way. 
We  put  into  St.  Helena  and  the  Captain  and  passengers 
went  on  shore  and  stayed  all  night.  There  were  two  or 
three  whalers  in  port,  and  the  mates  came  on  board  and 
stayed  till  after  midnight  spinning  yarns.  I  came  near 
being  caught  napping,  for  no  one  waked  me  up  before  six 
o'clock,  when  we  should  have  been  ready  for  getting 
under  weigh.  Fortunately  the  Captain  slept  late  on 
shore  and  did  not  get  off  till  eight  a.m.,  when  I  had  all  sail 
set  and  was  ready  to  heave  up  the  anchor  as  soon  as  he 
made  his  appearance. 

From  St.  Helena  we  had  the  usual  pleasant  weather 
till  we  were  in  latitude  25°  north  where  we  lost  the  north- 
east trades  and  were  in  the  outside  of  a  West  Indian  hurri- 
cane. The  weather  was  very  threatening  and  at  eight  p.m. 
we  had  reduced  sail  to  three  close-reefed  topsails,  sent 
down  skysail  and  royal  yards  and  made  all  ready,  but  there 


65 

was  no  wind.  At  ten  p.m.  there  was  a  terrific  thunder- 
and-lightning  storm.  I  never  saw  the  Hke  of  it  before  or 
since.  It  was  so  dark  that  I  could  not  see  the  Captain 
who  was  close  alongside  of  me.  It  began  with  a  fierce 
flash  of  lightning  right  overhead,  followed  by  a  deafening 
thunder-clap  on  the  port  quarter;  then  a  forked  streak 
of  lightning  on  the  starboard  quarter  with  another  peal  of 
thunder,  and  for  two  hours  it  continued  without  inter- 
mission, with  torrents  of  rain  but  no  wind.  It  was 
fearful,  but  after  midnight  it  worked  away  to  the  west- 
ward, and  in  the  morning  the  northeast  trades  came  back 
and  from  that  time  on  we  made  a  good  run  to  New  York, 
reaching  home  about  the  middle  of  September. 

As  mate  I  had  to  stay  by  the  ship  till  the  cargo  was  all 
discharged,  which  took  about  fifteen  days.  My  brother 
then  told  me  that  Captain  Nat  Palmer  had  advised  my 
being  in  put  command  of  the  ship.  Being  just  twenty- 
three  years  old  I  hesitated  at  accepting  the  offer,  but 
Captain  Palmer  told  me  I  was  just  as  capable  of  being 
Master  as  I  should  be  two  years  hence,  and  I  accepted. 
I  felt  very  proud  of  the  position.  I  chose  for  my  chief 
mate  Mr.  Stevens,  a  very  capable  man,  a  good  sailor  and 
navigator.  He  was  an  Englishman  but  had  sailed  from 
New  York  for  a  long  time.  I  liked  him  very  much.  The 
steward  was  named  Essex  after  the  man  of  war  of  that 
name.  He  had  been  steward  of  the  Great  Western,  the 
first  steamer  that  crossed  the  Atlantic.  He  was  lame  in 
one  arm  but  he  was  the  best  steward  out  of  New  York 
and  had  been  in  the  Houqua  for  two  voyages,  and  was 
ready  to  go  with  me  in  my  first  voyage  as  Master. 

I  had  more  time  to  myself  now  than  I  had  had  since 
I  first  went  to  sea  and  I  enjoyed  my  stay  on  shore.  I 
visited  around  in  the  family,  dining  out  pretty  much  every 


66 

day.  I  was  longing  to  get  to  sea  again,  and  yet  somewhat 
anxious,  as  the  time  arrived,  to  assume  the  whole  re- 
sponsibility of  Master. 

The  time  flew  rapidly,  and  on  the  4th  of  November 
we  were  towed  down  the  bay.  All  my  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, Captains  Nat  and  Theodore  Palmer  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  friends  were  on  the  tug-boat  to  give  me  a  send  off, 
and  just  five  years  from  my  first  voyage  as  boy  I  was  off 
as  Captain  of  this  beautiful  little  ship.  I  had  a  splendid 
crew,  and  my  second  mate,  Mr  Higgins,  seemed  very 
smart  and  active.  My  chief  mate  I  had  great  confidence 
in,  and  as  for  myself,  now  I  was  afloat,  I  was  perfectly 
confident  that  I  should  be  fully  able  to  give  satisfaction 
to  my  employers. 

The  first  three  days  we  had  light  winds  and  pleasant 
weather.  On  the  fourth  day  out  the  wind  was  fresh  and 
stormy,  but  I  left  the  deck  with  the  mate  about  eleven 
o'clock.  Soon  after  he  came  and  called  me  and  said  it 
was  blowing  hard  and  that  he  wanted  me  on  deck.  I 
have  never  forgotten  my  feelings  at  that  time.  I  had 
always  had  some  one  to  call  upon  at  such  a  time,  and  now 
I  was  the  one  called  and  the  one  to  act.  I  was  not  long 
in  answering  his  call  and  as  soon  as  I  got  on  deck  I  found 
it  was  necessary  to  shorten  sail,  and  I  told  the  mate  to  call 
all  hands  and  reef  the  topsails.  I  put  two  reefs  in  and 
sent  the  men  below.  It  was  now  my  watch  on  deck  and 
I  carried  the  double-reefed  topsails  till  daylight,  when  the 
gale  increased  and  I  had  to  close-reef,  and  for  two  days 
we  had  very  heavy  gales  with  furious  squalls.  We  made 
good  headway  but  did  not  get  the  northeast  trades  till 
we  reached  latitude  21°  north.  We  carried  them  to 
5°  north  and  then  took  the  southeast  trades  with  only 
one  day's  calm,  crossing  the  line  after  the  very  short 


67 

passage  of  twenty-three  days  from  New  York.  The  trades 
were  light  and  we  had  pleasant  weather.  Seven  days 
after  crossing  the  line  we  made  the  Island  of  Trinidad  at 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  This  was  a  great  satis- 
faction and  gave  me  great  relief.  It  not  only  showed 
me  that  my  chronometers  were  going  well  but  that  my 
observations  were  correct  and  that  there  was  no  trouble 
about  my  navigation.  With  variable  winds  we  passed 
the  meridian  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  latitude  4° 
south  and  for  a  week  we  had  furious  gales;  but  nothing 
worthy  of  notice  took  place  till  the  fifteenth  day  of  January. 
The  ship  was  running  before  the  wind;  it  was  a  beau- 
tiful night  with  full  moon  and  not  a  cloud  to  be  seen. 
I  had  been  talking  to  the  second  mate  and  telling  him  I 
thought  we  had  made  the  quickest  passage  on  record 
thus  far.  We  had  every  sail  set,  stunsails  on  both  sides 
and  all  sail  we  could  pack  on  the  ship.  At  ten  p.m.  I 
went  below,  and  before  turning  in  I  looked  at  the  barom- 
eter and  it  stood  at  29.80,  the  same  as  for  some  days.  At 
two  I  was  waked  out  of  a  sound  sleep  by  a  terrible  dream. 
I  dreamed  the  ship  was  going  down  head  first,  with  a  big 
sea  rolling  over  her  bows.  I  jumped  from  my  berth  in  a 
reeking  perspiration  and  went  on  deck,  which  was  my 
custom  when  I  woke  up  at  any  time  of  night.  Before 
going  up  I  looked  at  the  barometer  and  it  was  the  same 
as  when  I  turned  in.  I  found  the  mate  in  charge  and 
asked  him  how  the  weather  was,  and  he  replied  that  it 
was  about  the  same  as  when  he  relieved  the  deck  at  twelve 
o'clock.  Feeling  chilly  I  went  below  and  I  seemed  to 
be  led  by  an  invisible  something  to  look  at  the  barometer. 
It  had  fallen  two  tenths !  I  had  forgotten  my  dream,  but 
I  could  not  make  out  how  there  should  be  such  a  fall.  I 
examined  to  it  see  if  there  was  anything  wrong  about  it 


68 

and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  had  not  set  it  right.  I 
put  on  my  monkey  jacket  and  went  on  deck  again  and 
found  the  wind  increasing  somewhat,  and  ordered  all  the 
port-studding-sails  taken  in  and  the  jibs  and  spanker  to 
be  furled,  and  then  went  down  again  to  look  at  the  ba- 
rometer and  found  it  had  fallen  two  tenths  more.  I  then 
knew  there  was  trouble  brewing  and  jumped  on  deck, 
ordering  all  hands  called  to  shorten  sail  and  handed  the 
royals  and  topgallant  sails.  The  wind  increasing  as  fast 
as  we  could  clew  up,  haul  down  and  furl,  we  close-reefed 
the  topsails  and  furled  the  mainsail.  At  three  a.m., 
barometer  28.90  and  blowing  heavy,  we  took  in  the  fore 
and  mizzen-topsail  and  furled  them,  and  reefed  the  foresail 
and  set  it.  At  four  a.m.  we  were  scudding  under  a  close- 
reefed  main-topsail  and  reefed-foresail,  wind  blowing  a 
furious  gale.  The  sky  was  covered  with  dense  masses  of 
black,  smoky  clouds  filled  with  thunder  and  lightning, 
and  all  the  mast-heads  and  yard-arms  had  composants, 
or  balls  of  electricity,  resting  upon  them,  as  low  down  as 
the  lower  yards. 

The  stunsail  booms  were  rigged  in  and  made  fast  to 
the  quarter  of  the  yards.  The  ship  at  five  a.m.  was  scud- 
ding at  a  fearful  rate,  and  rolling.  She  first  rolled  the  star- 
board topmast-stunsail  booms  under,  on  both  the  fore  and 
main-yards,  snapping  them  short  off;  she  then  rolled  to 
port  and  snapped  the  port-booms  off.  The  next  roll  she 
made  took  the  starboard  quarter  boat  from  the  davits.  At 
six  a.m.  the  wind  suddenly  shifted  to  south  from  south- 
west, blowing  a  hurricane  and  broachuig  the  ship  to,  and 
heaving  her  down  with  her  port  leading  trucks  in  the  water. 
We  hauled  the  foresail  up  and  braced  the  main-yard 
up  with  the  port  braces.  The  foresail  and  main-topsail 
blew  to  pieces,  and  one  by  one  every  sail  was  blown  from 


H 
X 

n 

X 

o 

c 
o 
c 
> 


69 

the  gaskets  and  reefs.  The  jib  and  flying-jib  guys  set  up 
to  the  cat-head  and  the  stram  on  the  guys  was  so  great  as 
to  snap  the  cat-head  short  off,  and  the  jib-boom  went  over- 
board, breaking  off  at  the  bowsprit  cap.  The  fore-and- 
main -topgallant  masts  soon  followed,  carrying  with  them 
the  topmast-head.  The  mizzen-topgallant-mast  bent 
nearly  double  and  broke  off  just  above  the  cap.  The 
port  quarter  boat  was  lashed  on  deck  having  just  been 
repaired.  This  was  knocked  to  pieces  and  went  over- 
board. All  the  ports,  eight  m  number  on  the  port  side, 
were  carried  away  and  the  monkey  rail  stove  in  fore  and 
aft.  It  was  impossible  to  hear  yourself  speak.  My 
mate  was  within  three  feet  of  me,  and  with  a  speaking 
trumpet  it  was  difficult  to  make  him  hear.  It  blew  so 
hard  we  had  to  lie  flat  and  hold  on.  At  nine  a.m.  the  wind 
lulled  and  the  ship  righted  and  fell  off  before  the  wind. 
Every  sail  had  been  bloT\Ti  from  the  gaskets  and  reefs, 
and  there  was  not  a  square  foot  of  canvas  left  upon  the 
yards.  The  spanker  was  reefed  and  furled  to  the  boom 
and  it  blew  to  pieces  from  there.  The  barometer  now 
stood  at  27.50.  While  the  lull  lasted  we  managed  to  clear 
away  the  wreck  of  the  fore  and  mam-topgallant-masts 
with  the  yards  and  rigging  attached,  and  let  them  go  over- 
board. At  noon  there  was  a  furious  gale  from  southeast. 
Shortly  after  noon  the  hurricane  came  on  again  with  terrific 
violence  and  it  was  impossible  to  stand  against  it.  At 
two  P.M.,  as  it  was  still  increasing  in  violence,  fearing  to 
scud  any  longer  we  hove  the  ship  to  under  bare  poles,  on 
the  port  tack,  with  her  head  to  the  south.  The  rails  and 
ports  were  all  whole  on  the  starboard  side  and  the  wind 
was  hauling  against  the  sun,  or  from  southwest  to  south 
and  southeast  to  east.  When  we  hove  to,  the  lower  masts 
and  topmasts  with  their  yards  were  all  right,  with  the 


70 

wreck  of  the  main-topgallant  mast  hanging  to  windward. 
At  four  P.M.  the  mates  and  sailors  were  lashed  under  the 
main  rigging  and  I  was  standing  just  abaft  holding  on  to 
the  pin  rail,  when  to  windward  I  could  see  the  spoondrift, 
a  solid  mass  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high,  coming  down  before 
the  hurricane ;  and  the  most  fearful  gusts  of  wind  hurled 
themselves  upon  us.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the 
roaring,  howling  and  shrieking  of  the  wind.  Never  did 
I  or  could  I  imagine  it.  The  stoutest  and  firmest  man  in 
the  ship  could  not  stand  before  any  one  of  the  ports,  the 
spoondrift  being  driven  through  them  with  the  force  of 
a  shot  from  a  cannon.  It  struck  the  outside  of  the  ship 
and  formed  an  arch  over  her  so  that  while  we  could  see 
fore  and  aft,  we  could  not  see  above  the  tops,  and  the  air 
was  so  full  of  salt  water  we  could  hardly  breathe.  The 
ship  stood  against  it  for  about  ten  minutes,  when  she  was 
hove  down  on  her  beam  ends.  I  tried  to  gain  the  weather 
rail  and  I  caught  it  with  my  right  hand,  but  the  rail  being 
wet  and  slippery,  and  the  ship  going  over  so  quickly,  my 
feet  slipped  from  under  me  and  I  fell  into  the  sea  to  lee- 
ward, without  touching  the  ship.  I  rose  to  see  the  mizzen 
rigging  just  before  me,  but  a  big  sea  came  over  me  and  I 
went  down  where  it  was  dark.  I  never  expected  to  see 
the  ship  again.  I  said  my  last  prayer,  as  I  thought. 
Everything  that  I  had  done  from  my  youth  up  came  to 
my  mind  and  I  wondered  how  long  my  relatives  would 
look  for  me  and  never  hear  from  me;  but  my  eyes  were 
open  and  I  saw  a  line  before  me  and  caught  it  and  hauled 
myself  up  till  my  head  struck  the  pin  rail  around  the 
mizzen-mast,  before  my  feet  struck  the  deck.  I  im- 
mediately got  on  the  weather  side  of  it  and  motioned  to 
the  mate  and  men  to  cut  the  rigging  of  the  mainmast. 
As  they  cut  the  lanyards  the  mainmast  went,  breaking  off 


71 

about  four  feet  above  the  deck.  With  the  assistance  of 
a  man  at  the  wheel  I  got  to  windward  and  cut  the  lanyards 
of  the  mizzen  rigging,  the  mast  going  over  about  a  foot 
above  the  deck,  and  the  ship  righted  with  her  rail  above 
the  water.  Before  the  masts  were  cut  away,  the  rims  of 
the  tops  were  in  the  water  and  the  deck  perpendicular, 
and  the  ship  was  drawing  as  much  water  on  her  side  as  she 
did  on  her  keel.  If  we  had  been  two  minutes  later  in  cut- 
ting away  the  masts  she  would  inevitably  have  foundered. 
The  carpenter's  house  with  all  his  tools  and  clothes,  the 
galley  with  the  caboose  or  cooking  stove,  with  all  the 
cooking  utensils  in  the  ship,  went  overboard  without  leav- 
ing a  trace  upon  the  rail.  The  fore-scuttle  was  carried 
away  and  the  water  poured  down  in  a  solid  stream,  carry- 
ing the  bulkhead  between-decks  into  the  lower  hold,  with 
all  the  sailors'  bunks,  chests  and  bedding.  The  house 
over  the  long  boat,  with  all  the  purchase  and  spare  blocks 
and  spare  lines  and  all  the  live  stock,  pigs  and  fowls  went 
overboard.  The  ship  was  so  far  over  that  the  capstan 
unshipped  and  stuck  in  one  of  the  ports  to  leeward, 
and  that  was  about  the  only  thing  that  was  left  on  deck. 

The  cabin  was  half  filled  with  water  and  my  chro- 
nometers also  were  full  of  water  and  one  of  them  stopped. 
My  watch  and  sextant  were  also  ruined;  also  my  books 
and  charts  were  soaked,  and  all  table  linen  and  my  clothes 
were  wet  through.  There  was  nothing  belonging  to  me 
that  was  not  drenched  except  six  volumes  of  "  Channing's 
Sermons"  wliich  I  had  not  opened,  and  which  were  in  a 
berth  on  the  other  side  of  the  ship;  they  were  dry. 

When  the  main  and  mizzen-masts  were  cut  away  the 
lee  rigging  held  them  and  they  turned  up  under  the 
weather  quarter  and  were  beating  with  great  force  against 
the  ship,  threatening  to  beat  a  hole  in  it.     It  was  a  great 


72 

relief  when  the  rigging  gave  way  and  they  drifted  away 
from  us.  Until  they  left  us  we  did  nothing.  The  sound- 
ing rod  was  gone,  so  I  ordered  the  mate  to  take  two  of 
the  best  men  and  go  down  forward  and  see  how  much 
water  there  was  in  the  ship.  They  reported  her  half  full. 
I  immediately  ordered  both  pumps  rigged,  and  we  went 
to  work.  In  the  meantime  I  had  a  small  sail  rigged  up 
to  the  boat  davits,  and  it  blew  so  hard  that  this  brought 
the  ship  to  the  wind  and  she  lay  very  comfortably.  I  now 
went  below  for  the  first  time  since  noon.  I  found  the 
steward  wiping  off  the  paint  work  and  he  told  me  that 
he  had  gone  into  his  room  as  he  could  do  nothing  on  deck 
and  did  not  want  to  be  eaten  up  by  sharks,  for  he  supposed 
the  ship  would  founder.  I  found  in  my  room,  which  was 
just  abaft  the  pantry  and  store  room,  a  lot  of  stores  which 
had  washed  from  the  store  room,  Indian  meal,  soap,  and 
a  quantity  of  other  things.  The  Manila  cabin  boy  had 
tried  to  get  out  of  the  skylight,  and  had  cut  his  arms  badly 
with  breaking  the  glass;  and  two  or  three  of  my  men  had 
to  be  attended  to  who  had  received  cuts  and  bruises, 
so  I  had  my  hands  full  for  an  hour  or  more.  All  hands 
kept  the  pumps  going,  and  as  fast  as  they  were  relieved 
they  lay  down  on  deck  and  went  to  sleep  with  the  water 
washing  over  them,  that  came  in  through  the  open  ports. 
About  eleven  p.m.  the  men  came  to  me  and  wanted  to  know 
where  the  second  mate  was,  saying  they  wanted  him  to 
take  his  share  of  the  pumping.  I  went  to  his  room  and 
found  him  on  his  knees,  praying.  I  told  him  to  "  Hustle 
out  of  that  quick  and  go  to  the  pumps!  for  God  helped 
those  who  helped  themselves."  He  was  a  badly  scared 
man  and  wanted  to  know  if  the  ship  was  going  to  the 
bottom.  I  told  him  we  should  know  better  when  we  got 
the  water  out  of  her.     It  was  an  awful  night;  the  fore 


73 

yard,  the  lifts  and  the  braces  were  gone,  and  the  fore 
yard  was  cock-billed;  the  lower  yard-arm  striking  the 
bulwarks  and  knocking  a  big  hole  in  them.  The  fore 
topsail-yard  hung  by  the  tie,  as  it  had  lost  the  parrel,  and 
when  the  ship  rolled  it  went  the  full  length  of  the  tie  to 
leeward  and  then  came  back  with  the  force  of  a  battering 
ram,  carrying  away  the  fore-topsail  rigging  and  bruising 
the  foremast-head  badly.  It  was  impossible  to  attend 
to  all  of  these  while  we  had,  as  we  supposed,  a  sinking 
ship  under  us,  and  besides,  it  was  blowing  so  that  no  one 
could  put  his  head  above  the  rail.  The  men  had  been 
on  deck  from  two  a.m.  Saturday  morning  until  Sunday 
morning  at  seven,  with  only  a  glass  of  cider  occasionally 
and  a  biscuit.  We  had  no  water,  for  it  had  all  washed 
from  the  deck  and  there  was  no  going  below. 

After  the  pumps  sucked,  at  seven  a.m.  on  Sunday,  and 
we  found  we  had  a  tight  ship  under  us,  I  sent  all  hands 
to  get  two  or  three  hours'  sleep. 

On  Monday,  January  seventeenth,  we  had  fine  weather 
and  I  sent  fore-yard  and  fore-topsail  yard  on  deck  to  be 
refitted,  which  was  a  tedious  job,  for  all  the  tools  we  had 
left  were  a  hatchet  and  a  gouge  found  among  the  sailors' 
dunnage.  As  we  had  no  cooking-stove  and  no  water, 
while  the  carpenter  was  fitting  the  fore-yard  the  rest  of  the 
men  broke  out  the  fore  hold  and  procured  salt  beef  and 
pork  and  casks  of  bread,  and  a  cask  of  coal  which  we 
hoisted  on  deck.  The  coal  cask  we  cut  in  two  and  turned 
one  half  on  its  end  and  then  covered  it  with  a  foot  of  sand. 
We  rigged  a  tripod  on  top  and  with  some  tins  from  the 
cabin  we  made  out  to  boil  salt  pork  and  beef  and  give  the 
men  a  good  mess. 

Tuesday,  the  eighteenth,  we  sent  the  fore-yard  and  fore- 
topsail-yard  aloft.     On  opening  the  after  hatch  we  found 


74 

it  so  hot  that  we  were  threatened  with  spontaneous  com- 
bustion, and  we  had  to  open  all  the  hatches  and  take  out 
many  bales  of  cotton  goods  and  put  windsails  down  the 
hatches.  Afterwards  we  sent  the  foresail  up  and  set  it, 
also  the  fore-topsail. 

Wednesday  was  very  pleasant  and  we  got  ready  and 
shipped  a  main -topmast  for  a  jury  mizzen-mast,  on  which 
we  set  a  spanker  and  a  cross-jack  made  of  a  reefed  mizzen- 
topsail.  We  also  sent  up  a  short  fore-topgallant-mast 
and  a  topgallant-mast  for  a  jib-boom.  The  weather 
continued  fine  and  on  the  twentieth  we  came  up  with  the 
brig  Lady  Margaret  from  Manila,  bound  to  Australia. 
Captain  Mills  kindly  supplied  me  with  tools  and  cooking 
utensils.  On  the  twenty-fourth  we  made  Sandalwood 
Island  and  for  four  or  five  days  had  heavy  squalls  and 
rain.  In  the  Ombay  Passage  we  were  spoken  by  the 
Cygnet,  Captain  Dearborn,  and  the  Lebanon,  Captain 
Drew,  who  both  offered  assistance,  but  I  wanted  none. 
We  kept  company  with  them  for  two  or  three  days  through 
heavy  squalls. 

On  the  fourth  of  February  we  came  up  with  the  shv^Lady 
Amherst.  We  were  beating  up  the  south  coast  of  Bouro 
and  we  had  a  most  exciting  day  of  it.  The  English  ship 
had  all  her  canvas  and  I  was  under  jury  rig,  but  at  six  p.m., 
if  the  breeze  had  held,  I  should  have  passed  to  windward 
of  her;  but  the  wind  gave  out  and  we  parted.  We  worked 
hard  all  night  and  at  six  a.m.  we  were  ten  miles  ahead  of 
her,  but  we  lay  becalmed  while  she  was  coming  up  with 
a  good  breeze.  She  got  within  a  mile  of  us  and  then  she 
was  becalmed.  The  Captain  sent  a  boat  on  board  of  the 
Houqua  and  said  he  could  let  me  have  a  spar  to  make  a 
jury  mast,  and  I  went  on  board  his  ship  to  see  what  he 
had.     The  Captain  was  enthusiastic  over  my  ship's  sail 


75 

the  day  before.  After  a  while  I  bought  the  spar  and 
some  blocks  and  ropes,  supposing  he  would  let  me  have 
them  on  reasonable  terms,  but  he  charged  me  five  hundred 
per  cent,  more  than  I  could  have  got  them  for  in  Hong 
Kong.  I  was  going  to  back  out  of  the  purchase,  but  he 
told  me  that  if  I  refused  assistance  and  anything  happened 
to  me  I  should  lose  the  insurance.  I  took  them  and  paid 
for  them  by  a  draft  on  Russell  &  Co.  in  Hong  Kong, 
under  protest  at  his  extortion.  It  was  noon  when  we 
settled,  and  as  a  breeze  might  spring  up  at  any  minute,  I 
requested  him  to  put  the  spar  in  the  water  and  the  other 
articles  in  his  boat  and  help  me  get  them  on  board  my 
ship ;  but  he  declined  to  ask  his  men  to  do  it,  as  they  were 
just  going  to  dinner  and  had  worked  hard  all  night.  I 
asked  permission  to  speak  to  his  crew  and  he  gave  it.  I 
went  forward  and  told  them  my  ship  was  in  distress  and 
it  was  very  important  for  me  to  have  those  things  aboard 
at  once,  and  asked  them  to  do  it  at  once.  They  jumped 
to  their  feet  and  in  a  short  time  had  the  spar  overboard 
and  their  boat  loaded  with  the  blocks  and  ropes,  and  then 
towed  the  spar  alongside  my  ship  and  helped  get  it  on 
board.  They  worked  with  a  will,  and  by  one  o'clock 
they  were  back  to  their  ship  again. 

With  light  breezes  and  calms  for  two  days  we  kept  com- 
pany with  the  Lady  Amherst.  On  the  sixth  of  February 
I  kept  off  for  Cajeli,  island  of  Bouro,  for  water,  anchored 
in  Cajeli  Bay  at  seven  a.m.  on  the  seventh  of  February. 
Bouro  is  under  the  Dutch  Government,  and  it  had  a 
Malay  Governor  and  under-officers  there.  The  Governor 
could  speak  English  and  was  very  intelligent.  He  gave  me 
a  cordial  greeting  and  wanted  to  know  what  he  could  do 
for  us.  We  took  a  walk  in  the  forest  and  I  bought  quite 
a  number  of  trees  for  a  mere  song.     I  thought  they  would 


76 

make  good  studding-sail  booms,  and  that  one  large  one 
would  make  me  a  good  mizzen-mast.  While  my  men 
were  loading  water  I  had  my  carpenter  come  on  shore  to 
cut  down  the  trees,  which  cut  as  soft  as  pine  wood;  but 
when  we  came  to  haul  them  down  to  the  beach  they  were 
so  heavy  that  we  might  as  well  have  tried  to  move  the 
island,  so  we  cut  most  of  them  up  for  fire  wood.  Then 
we  went  to  work  to  get  our  jury  mainmast  up,  and  we  were 
enabled  to  set  a  foresail  on  it.  Bouro  is  one  of  the  Spice 
Islands  and  the  Dutch  send  their  ships  there  for  coffee 
and  spices  of  all  kinds,  which  the  natives  collect  for  the 
Dutch  Government.  They  also  furnish  the  famous  Cage- 
put  oil,  called  by  the  natives  "  Caiai  pooty "  oil.  The 
Governor  wanted  to  sell  me  a  lot  of  it,  but  not  knowing 
enough  about  its  value  I  bought  only  fifty  bottles  at  one 
dollar  a  bottle.  When  I  got  to  Hong  Kong  I  sold  it  at 
seven  dollars  a  bottle.  It  was  perfectly  pure  oil,  and  I 
was  told  that  one  seldom  saw  such  oil.  While  in  port  my 
steward  gave  the  Governor  a  lot  of  garden  seed;  and  some 
months  afterward,  when  my  brother  Edward  was  a 
passenger  in  the  Valparaiso,  bound  to  China,  and  they 
put  into  this  bay  for  water,  they  were  supplied  with  vege- 
tables raised  from  this  seed.  We  had  a  very  pleasant 
time,  and  filled  up  with  water  and  wood  and  vegetables 
and  fruit,  and  after  a  week's  stay  we  left  on  the  fifteenth 
of  February. 

When  we  passed  through  Dampier  Straits  north  of 
New  Guinea,  a  great  number  of  natives  came  alongside, 
and  as  we  were  perfectly  defenceless,  I  bought  up  all 
their  bows  and  arrows.  We  were  becalmed,  and  before 
long  we  sighted  war  canoes  coming  after  us,  some  with 
fifty  stark  naked,  six-foot  natives  on  board;  but  fortunately 
for  us  a  smart  squall  came  up  and  we  ran  away  from  them. 


77 

I  thought  at  one  time  it  was  all  up  with  us,  for  we  could 
have  done  nothing  against  two  or  three  hundred  savages. 

After  getting  into  the  Pacific  we  had  light  winds,  but 
we  had  no  further  incidents  worthy  of  mention.  On  the 
eleventh  of  March  we  made  the  Bashee  Islands,  south  of 
Formosa,  and  with  fresh  breezes  ran  across  the  China 
Sea  and  came  to  anchor  in  Hong  Kong  on  the  fourteenth 
of  March,  having  made  the  passage  from  New  York  in 
one  hundred  and  thirty-one  days,  sixty  days  under  jury 
masts. 

On  arrival  I  found  Mr.  Wolcott,  agent  from  A.  A.  Low 
8i  Bros.,  who  took  a  great  interest  in  the  ship  and  gave 
me  much  help.  I  abandoned  the  cargo  to  the  under- 
writers and  acted  as  their  agent.  The  bulk  of  it  was 
cotton  goods  and  these  were  all  badly  damaged;  some 
of  the  bales  in  the  lower  hold  had  their  outside  wrappers 
fairly  burned  off  by  the  heat;  and  if  they  had  been  stowed 
with  grease,  spontaneous  combustion  would  have  taken 
place  and  the  ship  burned  up.  We  had  the  whole  cargo 
landed,  and  then  we  sent  to  Canton  and  the  surrounding 
country  advertisements  in  Chinese,  for  an  auction  to  be 
held  in  Hong  Kong  of  damaged  goods,  on  such  a  date. 
The  Chinamen  gathered  in  crowds  and  bid  against  one 
another  and  the  whole  cargo  was  sold  for  cash  for  more 
than  it  would  have  brought  in  Shanghai  if  delivered  there 
in  good  order. 

After  disposing  of  the  cargo  I  had  a  survey  and  estimate 
of  the  cost  of  repairing  made,  and  was  recommended  to 
put  the  ship  in  as  good  order  as  possible.  At  Jardine's 
Point,  to  the  east  of  the  city,  there  was  a  good  ship-yard 
carried  on  by  a  Boston  man  named  Fraser,  and  I  had  the 
ship  towed  there  and  moored  close  in  shore.  There  were 
but  one  rigger  and  one  sailmaker  in  the  place,  so  that 


78 

my  crew  would  have  to  do  pretty  much  all  the  fitting, 
rigging  and  sailmaking.  I  called  them  aft  one  morning 
and  told  them  what  was  to  be  done,  and  also  told  them 
that  I  would  give  them  grog  three  times  a  day,  and  after 
the  day's  work  was  over  they  could  have  liberty  to  go  on 
shore,  but  that  they  must  not  bring  any  liquor  on  board 
or  come  on  board  drunk.  They  agreed  to  all  and 
though  we  were  there  over  three  months  I  never  lost  one 
man,  nor  did  I  have  a  drunken  man  on  board  among  the 
crew.  The  second  mate,  whom  I  found  at  his  prayers 
when  he  should  have  been  at  the  pumps,  I  had  to  dis- 
charge for  incompetency  and  drunkenness. 

My  sailors  fitted  all  the  rigging  and  made  most  of  the 
sails,  and  rigged  the  ship  all  by  themselves  with  the  ex- 
ception of  getting  in  the  lower  masts,  when  I  hired  China- 
men to  help.  We  had  to  heave  the  ship  out  to  look  at 
her  bottoms,  and  then  we  found  that  we  had  had  a  very 
narrow  escape  indeed,  for  when  the  mainmast  had  turned 
under  the  ship  and  come  out  on  the  weather  quarter, 
it  had  pounded  against  the  bottom  and  had  come  very 
near  to  knocking  a  hole  in  two  or  three  planks.  In  one 
barely  an  inch  of  good  wood  was  left.  Besides  doing  all 
the  work  required  by  me,  the  sailors  helped  to  heave  down 
quite  a  number  of  small  vessels  that  had  to  be  repaired, 
and  they  made  quite  a  lot  of  money  which  I  gave  them 
liberty  to  take.  They  were  a  splendid  lot  of  sailors.  I 
had  some  difficulty  in  getting  suitable  rigging  and  my 
quarter  boats  were  not  at  all  like  the  ones  I  lost,  but  I 
had  to  do  the  best  I  could. 

In  the  first  week  of  June  we  were  all  staunch  and  ready 
for  sea.  We  took  in  a  load  of  cotton  goods  for  Shanghai 
and  left  Hong  Kong  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  June  with  a 
light  breeze  from  southwest.     On  the  second  of  July  we 


79 

came  to  anchor  at  eight  p.m.  in  four  and  a  half  fathoms 
of  water,  and  lay  all  night  with  fresh  breeze  and  heavy  rain. 
At  six  A.M.  grounded  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Yang-tse 
River  and  had  to  bury  the  chain  and  slip  it,  and  make 
sail  up  the  river.  At  six  p.m.  came  to  anchor.  July 
fourth  at  six  a.m.  got  under  weigh  and  proceeded  up  the 
river,  and  at  ten  a.m.  came  to  anchor  off  Woosung.  July 
fifth  Captain  Roundy  of  the  opium  ship  Ann  Welsh  came 
on  board  and  piloted  the  ship  to  Shanghai,  where  we  dis- 
charged our  cargo  and  took  in  a  load  of  tea.  On  the 
sixteenth  of  July  we  were  all  ready  for  sea,  when  a  heavy 
typhoon  set  in  and  we  had  to  send  down  topgallant-roy al- 
and skysail-yards  and  topgallant-masts.  The  ships  all 
dragged  their  anchors  and  fouled  each  other.  The 
Houqua  dragged  into  the  English  ship  Queen  and  both 
ships  were  shghtly  damaged.  The  wind  very  fortunately 
shifted,  or  every  ship  in  port  would  have  gone  on  to  the 
Bund.  Russell  &  Co.'s  godowns  were  blown  down  and 
there  were  three  to  four  feet  of  water  all  over  Shanghai. 

On  the  twentieth  of  July  we  dropped  down  the  river 
and  anchored  outside  of  Woosung.  On  the  twenty-second 
we  were  clear  of  the  Yang-tse  and  with  strong  gales  from 
the  southwest  beat  down  the  Formosa  Channel.  Aujrust 
third  we  passed  the  Lema  Islands  and  anchored  inside 
of  Green  Island;  August  sixth  got  under  weigh  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Whampoa,  where  we  discharged  our  teas  to  be 
repacked,  but  we  were  not  to  take  them  home  and  I  had 
to  make  another  trip  to  Shanghai.  However,  since  we 
had  been  making  money  I  was  very  well  satisfied;  it  did 
not  matter  to  me  where  I  was  sailing  as  long  I  was  doing 
well  for  the  ship  and  owners,  but  I  was  tired  of  hurri- 
canes. On  the  thirty-first  of  August  I  was  again  ready 
for  sea  when  we  had  a  fearful  typhoon  and  I  had  to  send 


80 

down  my  topgallant-masts  with  all  the  yards  and  let  go 
a  third  anchor.  The  two  bower  anchors  had  ninety 
fathoms  of  cable  on  each.  We  rode  out  the  typhoon  in 
safety,  but  it  was  reported  that  fifty  thousand  Chinamen 
were  drowned  around  Canton.  The  Isabella  Robinson, 
a  large  English  opium  ship,  was  sunk  at  Capsingmoon 
and  twelve  or  fifteen  vessels  were  sunk  or  driven  ashore 
at  Hong  Kong.  This  was  my  third  experience  of  hurri- 
canes inside  of  a  year  and  I  wanted  no  more,  though 
as  it  would  be  the  typhoon  season  for  two  months  yet,  I 
knew  I  might  be  favored  with  more.  It  was  three  days 
before  we  were  all  ataunto.  On  September  third  we  got 
under  weigh  and  dropped  down  the  river;  passed  the 
Bogue  forts  at  two  P.M. ;  at  six  p.m.  came  to  anchor.  At  six 
P.M.  of  the  fourth  got  under  weigh  and  proceeded  to  sea 
with  light  southwest  winds.  On  the  seventh  we  had  a 
very  heavy  gale  from  northeast  with  barometer  sinking 
and  a  heavy  sea  on.  Close-reefed  the  topsails  and  reefed 
the  foresail  and  as  the  gale  was  increasing,  kept  away 
for  Chinchew  harbor;  ran  in  under  reefed  foresail  and 
came  to  anchor  in  six  fathoms  of  water,  having  run 
from  a  heavy  gale  into  almost  calm  weather.  We  lay  as 
comfortably  as  possible  in  tliis  harbor,  though  by  going  to 
the  tops  we  could  look  out  and  see  the  ocean  one  sheet  of 
foam.  We  had  to  lie  at  anchor  three  days  before  the 
gale  abated,  and  then  we  had  pleasant  weather;  and  we 
reached  Shanghai  on  the  fifteenth  of  September,  where  we 
lay  till  the  nineteenth  of  November,  waiting  for  the  teas  to 
come  in.  Here  I  received  a  letter  from  my  father,  the  first 
I  had  had  from  any  one  of  my  family  since  my  experience 
in  the  hurricane,  and  it  gave  me  great  comfort  to  know 
that  I  had  met  with  favor  in  regard  to  my  care  of  my  ship. 


81 

"New  York,  July  4,  1848. 

*^  My  dear  Son: — You  will  perceive  by  the  date  of  this 
letter  that  I  can  have  but  little  expectation  of  its  reacliing 
you  at  Canton  or  thereabouts.     Nevertheless,  I  feel  bound 
to  embrace  the  earhest  opportunity  presented  to  congratu- 
late you  on  your  most  miraculous  escape  from  death  in 
January  last.     I  cannot  but  regard  the  circumstances  of 
your  dehvery  as  the  arrangement  of  guardian  angels  to 
preserve  you  from  death.     You  can  hardly  realize  how 
your  description  of  the  scene  has  impressed  all  hearts, 
and  I  trust  the  impression  made  upon  your  own  mind 
will  never  be  erased,  and  that  it  will  lead  you  to  a  deep 
and  abiding  conviction  that  you  are,  as  well  as  all  the 
human  race,  the  perpetual  objects  of  God's  care,  and  the 
constant  recipients  of  his  mercies.     The  circumstance  of 
your  escaping  from  a  watery  grave  is  very  striking,  but 
as  I  view  the  Providence  of  God,  the  fact  that  you  were 
inspired  with  a  presence  of  mind,  courage,  resolution,  for- 
titude, prudence,  as  well  as  blest  with  health  and  strength 
to    endure    and    meet    the    emergency    of   the    occasion, 
were  equally  the  gift  of  God,  and  should  be  cherished  by 
you  as  continual  causes  of  thanksgiving  to  Him.     I  cannot 
but  remark  too,  how  much  you  were  blest  with  a  willing 
and  able  crew,  and  how  fortunate  for  them  that  none  were 
lost  at  the  time  you  went  overboard,  and  that  your  mate 
was  so  ready  to  adopt  the  measure  which  was  so  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  prevent  your  ship  from  going  to  the 
bottom.     Such    no    doubt    has    been    the    fate    of    many 
vessels  overtaken  by  the  fury  of  the  same  elements  and 
not  a  trace  has  been  left  to  account  for  their  loss.     We 
give  God  thanks  for  your  preservation  and  pray  without 
ceasing   that  his   parental   care   may  continue  to  guide, 
protect  and   preserve  you  and   return  you   to  us  in  his 
own  jjood  time. 

"The  report  of  your  disaster  came  from  Hong  Kong 
from  the  ship  Cygnet,  a  month  or  more  before  we  heard 
of  your  arrival.  The  intermediate  time  was  a  season  of 
great  anxiety  with  all  of  us,  but  your  Mother  happily  was 


82 

not  aware  of  the  many  dangers  to  which  you  might  be 
exposed  before  you  could  reach  Hong  Kong.  The  navi- 
gation, I  was  aware,  was  at  all  times  critical,  and  as 
you  were  in  a  crippled  condition,  I  was  much  concerned 
lest  you  should  be  met  by  lawless  depredators  of  the  sea 
and  be  unable  to  employ  any  of  the  usual  means  of  escape ; 
but  the  hour  arrived  when  our  hearts  were  made  glad 
with  the  news  of  your  arrival.  Your  letters  were  read 
with  great  greediness.  Josiah  will  write  you,  and  as  he 
holds  a  ready  pen  you  will  receive  from  him  a  full  and 
minute  account  of  the  sensation  which  your  graphic  de- 
scription of  the  disaster  has  made  upon  our  community. 
Your  letters  have  been  going  the  rounds  and  have  been 
read  with  great  interest  not  only  by  our  own  family,  but 
by  many  out  of  the  family,  and  we  find,  greatly  to  our 
joy  and  satisfaction,  that  there  is  but  one  opinion  of  your 
conduct,  and  that  is  highly  honorable  to  you  as  a  seaman, 
a  man  of  courage  and  judgment  and  resolution.  Your 
misfortune,  as  it  appeared  to  you  for  the  moment,  re- 
dounds greatly  to  your  credit,  and  will  secure  to  you  a 
high  degree  of  consideration  wherever  the  circumstances 
are  known  and  justly  appreciated.  Our  best  seamen  all 
acknowledge  that  the  hurricane  was  most  awful,  and  that 
you  did  everything  a  man  could  do.  Mr.  Hale  of  the 
Atlantic  expressed  himself  in  terms  of  great  satisfaction 
and  admiration  of  your  conduct  and  said  that  your  reso- 
lution to  carry  the  sliip  to  Hong  Kong  was  deserving 
of  great  praise,  and  had  saved  a  great  deal  of  money  for 
the  office.  Capt.  Hudson  of  the  Navy  read  the  account 
which  I  send  you  from  the  Journal  of  Commerce,  with 
great  interest.  He  said  he  had  read  it  twice  and  that 
his  wife  wept  like  a  child  while  he  read  it.  No  doubt 
she  recalled  to  mind  the  dangers  to  which  he  had  been 
exposed  in  the  Peacock.  In  fact,  those  best  qualified  to 
judge  of  your  proceedings  have  been  the  most  ready  to 
approve.  Much  more  of  the  same  sort  I  could  detail, 
but  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  you  will  never  want  a  ship 
to  command  as  long  as  your  character  stands  as  well  as 
it   does   now.     I   hope   nothing  will   occur   to   render   it 


83 

othenvise,  and  that  the  words  of  commendation  which 
will  come  to  you  from  all  quarters,  will  not  operate  to  render 
you  less  considerate,  manly,  kind  and  judicious  and 
popular  than  you  have  been.  I  trust  I  have  said  enough 
upon  tliis  subject,  but  if  I  have  not,  you  will  receive  from 
other  sources  enough  to  give  you  great  comfort  and  satis- 
faction amid  all  your  trials.  We  feel  that  you  must  have 
been  greatly  disappointed  in  not  finding  Edward  at  Can- 
ton, which  was  your  loss  but  our  gain;  we  were  relieved 
by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Wolcott  was  on  the  spot  and  had  the 
disposition  as  well  as  power  to  render  you  important  aid. 
We  are  now  waiting  with  great  impatience  for  further 
letters,  hoping  that  in  them  we  may  learn  the  destination 
of  the  ship  and  when  we  may  indulge  the  pleasure  of  look- 
ing for  your  return." 


The  balance  of  the  letter  referred  to  family  matters 
which  do  not  belong  here. 

At  ten  A.M.  of  the  nineteenth  of  November  we  got  under 
weigh  and  proceeded  down  the  river.  It  was  not  till  the 
twenty-fourth  that  we  bade  good  bye  to  the  muddy  waters 
of  the  Yang-tse  River,  and  it  was  with  no  feeling  of 
regret.  On  the  twenty-eighth  we  anchored  in  Hong 
Kong,  and  on  the  twenty -ninth  we  left  for  New  York, 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Toby  as  passengers.  After  eight 
days  we  passed  Anjer;  passed  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in 
forty-two  days;  crossed  the  line  in  sixty-two  days;  had 
a  fair  run  through  the  northeast  trades  to  34°  north, 
when  we  had  a  succession  of  calms  and  gales  of  wind 
from  north  northeast,  so  that  we  did  not  reach  New  York 
till  the  sixth  of  March,  making  ninety-seven  days  from 
Hong  Kong.  This  was  a  short  passage,  but  if  we  had  had 
good  luck  from  the  equator  it  could  hardly  have  taken  over 
eighty-seven.  However,  I  was  glad  enough  to  take  a 
pilot  on  board  and  be  relieved  of  the  responsibility. 


84 

I  had  a  most  hearty  reception  from  my  father  and 
brothers  and  from  many  captains  and  old  friends.  Cap- 
tain Nat  Palmer  was  as  glad  as  any  one  to  see  me,  for 
he  had  been  the  one  who  had  urged  me  on  in  my  career, 
and  he  appeared  well  satisfied  with  his  protege.  What  a 
happy  time  I  had  in  meeting  my  mother  and  sisters! 
and  what  a  big  reception  I  had  in  the  evening!  When 
I  told  of  my  experience  in  the  hurricane  people  could 
hardly  believe  that  I  was  there  to  tell  of  it.  My  happi- 
ness that  first  evening  made  up  for  all  the  trials  I  had  gone 
through.  I  was  made  very  happy  too  by  my  brother 
Abbot,  who  told  me  that  if  I  had  made  the  voyage  as  it 
was  laid  out  when  I  left  New  York,  the  ship  would  have 
lost  forty  or  fifty  thousand  dollars,  but  as  she  had  been 
delayed  and  made  the  two  trips  from  Hong  Kong,  and  at 
last  brought  home  the  first  of  the  New  Year's  teas,  she 
would  clear  more  than  sixty  thousand  dollars. 

The  next  day  I  went  over  to  the  ship,  and  it  was  with 
fear  and  trembling  that  I  saw  Captain  Nat  Palmer  com- 
ing down  the  wharf.  I  knew  that  the  ship  was  not  as 
good  as  when  I  left  New  York;  there  was  much  rigging 
that  was  too  large,  and  the  quarter  boats  were  nothing 
like  the  American  boats  which  I  had  lost.  But  when  he 
came  on  board,  I  pointed  out  to  him  all  that  was  amiss, 
and  he  said  to  me,  "Don't  you  worry,  you  saved  your 
ship  and  saved  the  insurance  companies  a  lot  of  money 
and  they  have  got  to  make  everything  good,  and  I  shall 
see  to  it  that  they  do." 

And  he  had  no  trouble  about  doing  it.  In  a  day  or 
two  they  called  a  survey  and  I  pointed  out  to  them  what 
was  wrong.  They  told  Captain  Palmer  to  see  that  every- 
thing was  made  as  good  as  when  the  ship  left  New  York; 
to  have  new  quarter  boats,  new  rigging,  or  whatever  was 


9 


3" 


H 

I 
n 

X 
O 
c 

o 

c 
> 


85 

needed.  Captain  Palmer  took  them  at  their  word  and 
before  she  went  to  sea  again  she  was  as  good  as  new  in 
every  respect. 

A  few  weeks  afterwards  my  father  and  brother  Abbot 
and  Captain  N.  B.  Palmer  went  with  me  to  the  Atlantic 
Insurance  Company's  office,  where  I  was  interviewed  by 
several  presidents  of  insurance  companies  interested,  and 
thanked  by  them  for  my  good  seamanship  and  for  saving 
the  ship  and  cargo.  Then  Captain  Palmer  was  asked  to 
help  me  pick  out  the  finest  chronometer  to  be  had  in  New 
York  and  to  have  a  suitable  silver  plate  put  upon  it. 
After  I  left  them  Captain  Palmer  and  I  went  at  once  to 
Negus  &  Co.'s  navigation  warehouse,  and  we  purchased 
an  eight-day  chronometer  which  Mr.  Negus  guaranteed 
to  be  the  best  watch  in  the  city.  Its  cost  was  eight  hun- 
dred dollars;  and  a  silver  plate,  costing  fifty  dollars,  was 
engraved  and  put  on  top  of  it.  The  inscription  was  as 
follows: — "Presented  by  the  Atlantic,  Sun,  Mercantile 
and  Union  Mutual  Insurance  Companies  of  New  York 
and  the  Insurance  Company  of  North  America  of  Phila- 
delphia to  Captain  Charles  P.  Low,  late  master  of  Ship 
Houqua,  as  a  testimonial  of  their  approbation  of  his  good 
conduct  in  saving  said  ship  and  cargo,  after  having  been 
thrown  on  her  beam  ends  in  the  Indian  Ocean  on  the  15th 
of  January  1848  in  a  violent  Typhoon,  and  nearly  filled 
with  water,  but  by  the  extraordinary  exertions  of  the 
Master  and  crew  was  righted  and  subsequently  taken 
by  them  to  her  port  of  destination  which  was  3500  miles 
distant."  The  chronometer  proved  to  be  one  of  the  finest 
timekeepers  ever  made;  for  two  or  three  years  it  had  no 
rate  losing  or  gaining,  but  ran  mean  time. 

On  the  sixth  of  April,  1849,  just  one  month  from  my 
arrival  in  New  York,  1  again  sailed  in  the  Houqua  for 


86 

China.  As  usual,  a  large  number  of  people,  with  Captain 
Palmer  and  my  brothers  and  sisters,  accompanied  the 
vessel  to  Sandy  Hook.  Mr.  Stephens  was  mate,  and  was 
the  same  one  who  had  helped  me  so  much  in  fitting  the 
ship  in  Hong  Kong;  but  in  those  days  pretty  much  all 
the  crew  were  brought  on  board  drunk,  and  it  required 
much  patience  to  deal  with  them.  The  sailmaker  was  a 
hard  character  and  refused  to  work,  and  the  mate  had 
to  haul  him  out  of  his  room,  which  looked  to  those  on 
board  the  steam  tug  so  brutal  that  Captain  Palmer  was 
requested  to  take  the  mate  out  of  the  ship.  I  was  very 
angry  at  his  interference,  but  it  was  of  no  use;  the  pilot 
was  ordered  to  bring  the  ship  to  anchor,  and  the  mate  and 
myself  were  taken  on  board  the  steamer  and  went  to  New 
York,  and  I  had  to  get  another  mate.  We  soon  found  a 
man  whom  I  was  much  pleased  with,  and  the  next  morning 
early  I  was  off  for  the  ship.  The  new  man,  Mr.  Thayer, 
had  a  loud,  clear  and  commanding  voice,  and  at  first  I 
thought  I  was  lucky,  at  so  short  notice,  to  get  so  good  a 
man,  but  I  soon  found  that  he  was  no  sailor,  very  timid 
about  carrying  sail  and  did  not  keep  a  good  watch. 
The  men  soon  found  him  out,  but  I  had  to  put  up  with 
him  till  I  got  to  China,  where  I  discharged  him. 

The  voyage  was  pleasant.  We  crossed  the  line  in 
twenty-one  days,  two  days  less  than  on  my  first  voyage, 
passed  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  forty-six  days  and  anchored 
in  Anjer  in  seventy-eight  days  from  New  York — a  very 
good  passage — and  in  ninety  days  anchored  in  Hong 
Kong  on  the  fourth  of  July.  On  the  fifth  we  got  under 
weigh  and  proceeded  up  the  river  to  Whampoa.  I  found 
my  brother  Edward  there  awaiting  me,  and  we  went  up 
to  Canton  together.  I  had  a  good  room  assigned  me,  and 
after  transacting  my  business  had  a  very  pleasant  time  for 


87 

a  few  days,  when  I  went  back  to  the  ship.  My  brother 
told  me  it  would  be  three  months  before  I  could  load  for 
home,  so  I  ordered  the  topgallant  masts  sent  down  on 
deck  and  the  riggmg  all  overhauled,  and  had  a  mat 
house  built  over  the  ship  fore  and  aft,  which  protected 
her  from  the  hot  sun,  for  at  that  time  of  year  it  was 
very  hot.  Under  the  mat  house,  however,  it  was  cool 
and  pleasant. 

Mr.  Thomas  Hunt,  who  left  the  ship  some  years  before, 
now  kept  a  ship  chandler's  store  and  was  quite  a  rich  man 
and  married.     I  spent  many  pleasant  hours  on  board  his 
ship  or  hulk.     Besides,  there  were  many  ships  in  harbor, 
and  with  no  business  to  do  we  had  leisure  for  dinner  parties. 
Moreover,  the  merchants  came  from  Canton  once  a  week 
and  oftener,  and  spent  the  time  on  the  different  vessels. 
My  brother  Edward  came  down  often,  and  sometimes  I 
would  go  to  Canton  for  a  week  or  ten  days.     Time  passed 
rapidly.     At  this  time  very  exciting  reports  came  from 
California  of  the  finding  of  gold,  and  letters  from  New 
York  stated  that  the  Samuel  Russell  on  arriving  home 
would  probably  load  for  San  Francisco.     As  I  was  prom- 
ised command  of  this  ship  when  I  got  home,  I  was  very 
anxious  to  be  loaded  and  start  on  my  homeward  journey. 
Early  in  September  my  brother  told  mr  we  should  be  ready 
to  sail  the  last  of  the  month,  and  by  working  hard  we  were 
loaded  and  started  September  twentieth  down  the  river. 
We  left  Macao  on  the  twenty-first,  with  a  fine  breeze  from 
the  north  northeast  and  had  two  fine  days'  run,  but  after 
that,  light,  variable  winds,  mostly  ahead,  and  it  was  the 
eighteenth   of    October    before    we    anchored    in    Anjer, 
twenty-six  days  from  Macao.     With  a  good  run  across 
the  Indian  Ocean  we  passed  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
sixty-seven  days  out.     On  January  eighth,  1850,  we  took 


88 

a  pilot  off  Absecom  and  reached  New  York  in  one  hun- 
dred and  nine  days  from  Macao. 

When  the  pilot  came  on  board  the  first  question  I  asked 
was,  "  Has  the  Saviuel  Russell  sailed  for  San  Francisco  ?  " 
He  said  not,  but  that  she  was  to  leave  the  next  day.  I 
told  him  to  hurry  and  get  to  New  York  for  I  was  to  take 
command  of  her.  When  the  steamer  got  alongside  to 
tow  us  the  Captain  said  that  he  was  to  take  me  to  the 
wharf  where  the  Samuel  Russell  was  loading,  and  we 
did  indeed  make  fast  to  the  end  of  her  pier.  Captain 
Theodore  Palmer,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Samuel 
Russell,  came  on  board  and  wanted  to  know  if  I  would 
take  command.  I  told  him  I  would  if  I  could  settle  up 
the  business  of  my  last  voyage  in  time.  He  replied  that 
I  should  have  two  or  three  days.  He  then  went  on  board 
of  the  ship  and  ordered  the  mate  to  have  all  the  sails  taken 
out  of  the  fore  peak  and  put  in  the  cabin,  to  make  room 
for  more  freight.  The  mate  said,  "  Captain  Low  is  going 
in  the  ship,  is  he  not  ?  "  and  Captain  Palmer  said,  "  Yes, 
he  will  take  command."  The  mate  said,  "  I  knew  it,  for 
if  you  were  going  it  would  not  be  done,  for  the  ship  is 
loaded  now  as  deep  as  a  sand  barge."  And  she  was: 
her  scuppers  were  not  more  than  a  foot  out  of  the  water. 
There  was  plenty  of  freight  offering,  and  the  ship  had  a 
freight  list  of  nearly  seventy-five  thousand  dollars,  and  a 
dollar  and  a  half  a  foot,  or  sixty  dollars  a  ton,  for  all  she 
had  on  board.  My  brothers  met  me  at  the  wharf  and  I 
told  them  I  was  ready  to  take  command,  but  they  thought 
that  I  ought  not  to ;  that  I  should  take  more  time  on  shore. 
I  told  them  the  shore  was  nothing  to  me  and  so  the  com- 
mand was  handed  over  to  me. 

It  was  a  busy  time  for  me;  I  had  to  enter  the  Houqua 
at  the  Custom-house  and  pay  off  my  crew,  and  settle  up 
the  business  of  the  voyage.     But  Captain  Palmer  helped 


89 

me  by  keeping  charge  of  the  Samuel  Russell  and  getting 
her  ready  for  sea.  I  had  a  most  pleasant  time  visitmg  my 
relatives,  eating  sometimes  two  or  three  dinners  in  one 
day  so  as  to  get  around  the  family.  I  sent  my  clothes  on 
board  the  Samuel  Russell,  dirty  ones  and  all,  (not  having 
time  to  get  any  washing  done,  as  I  expected  to  sail  in 
three  days.)  As  it  happened,  a  strong  easterly  gale  set  in, 
and  detained  the  ship  for  awhile,  but  on  the  fifteenth  of 
January,  six  days  after  I  took  the  pilot,  bound  in,  I  left 
the  pilot  at  Sandy  Hook,  bound  out  on  a  voyage  around 
the  world. 

We  had  a  fresh  wind  from  the  westward,  and  when  we 
reached  the  Gulf  Stream  we  found  how  deep  in  the  water 
the  ship  was,  and  how  slowly  she  rose  to  the  seas.  The 
wind  increased  to  a  heavy  gale,  and  while  running  under 
dose-reefed  topsails  and  foresail  a  sea  boarded  us  over 
the  starboard  quarter.  The  mate,  Mr.  Limeburner  and 
myself  were  swept  more  than  sixty  feet  and  brought  up 
in  the  main  rigging.  The  man  at  the  wheel  was  carried 
into  the  mizzen  rigging.  The  binnacle  and  the  two  large 
compasses  were  swept  overboard.  The  mate  was  the 
first  to  get  to  the  wheel  and  it  was  in  time  to  save  the  ship 
from  broaching  to.  None  of  us  were  hurt,  but  the  decks 
were  filled  with  water  fore  and  aft.  Left  without  com- 
passes we  had  to  steer  all  night  by  keeping  the  wind  astern, 
and  as  it  was  steady  from  the  northwest  we  kept  on  the 
ri<rht  course.  In  the  morning  we  had  a  look  for  other 
compasses  but  could  find  only  a  boat's  compass  about 
six  inches  in  diameter.  I  had  the  carpenter  take  my  dog 
house  and  make  a  binnacle  to  use  till  he  could  make  a 
proper  one;  and  we  steered  with  this  small  compass  till 
we  reached  below  Rio  Janeiro.     We  had  three  passengers. 


90 

a  Mr.  Robinson,  a  Mr.  Clark  and  a  Dr.  Bradshaw.  The 
latter  was  a  druggist  and  was  a  very  simple-minded  man. 
He  had  kept  a  small  drug  store  in  the  Bowery,  New  York, 
and  he  told  me  he  had  resided  in  one  place  for  twenty 
years  and  in  all  that  time  he  had  never  tasted  an  oyster. 
Mr.  Robinson  and  Mr.  Clark  also  came  from  the  Bowery. 
They  wore  slouched  hats  with  two  letters  on  them,  F. 
F.,  standing  for  Funny  Fellows,  a  club  of  that  name. 
They  were  chock  full  of  fun  as  well  as  good  singers  and 
good  story  tellers,  and  the  poor  doctor  had  to  take  many  a 
joke  which  they  played  upon  him.  He  learned  more  of 
the  world  from  them  than  he  ever  knew  before.  Mr. 
Limebumer,  the  chief  mate,  was  from  Maine,  and  had 
been  in  the  employ  of  my  brothers  for  a  number  of  years ; 
he  was  a  splendid  sailor.  Mr.  Hayes  was  second  mate, 
also  an  A  1  man.  He  was  short  and  stout,  but  very  active 
and  was  always  on  the  watch.  We  had  a  good  crew  and 
everything  went  on  smoothly.  The  small  compass  gave 
us  a  great  deal  of  trouble  as  it  could  not  be  seen  distinctly 
day  or  night,  but  we  managed  to  get  along  and  in  twenty 
days  we  crossed  the  line.  This  was  the  third  voyage  in 
which  I  had  made  the  passage  to  the  line  in  less  than 
twenty-three  days,  a  great  run  of  luck.  In  twenty-nine 
days  I  was  in  the  latitude  of  Rio  Janeiro,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing we  made  a  large  ship  ahead,  running  in  for  that  port. 
As  we  got  near  to  her  I  made  her  out  to  be  a  seventy-four 
gun  ship,  the  American  line-of-battle  ship,  Ohio.  I  took 
in  my  skysail  and  royal,  hauled  up  the  mainsail  and  hoisted 
my  ensign  Union  down,  showing  I  was  in  distress  and 
wanted  a  boat  sent  to  me,  but  no  attention  whatever  was 
paid  to  my  signals.  The  Ohio  was  just  back  from  a  long 
voyage  and  in  a  hurry  to  get  to  port.  When  I  arrived  in 
San  Francisco  I  sent  a  protest  to  my  brothers,  and  they 


91 

sent  it  to  Washington,  but  I  never  heard  that  anything 
came  of  it.  I  was  very  angry  for  I  wanted  one  or  more 
compasses  to  take  me  around  the  Horn.  Two  days 
afterwards  I  spoke  a  ship  loaded  with  passengers,  some 
three  hundred  or  more.  She  hove  to  for  me,  and  my 
mate  went  on  board  and  returned  with  two  fine,  new 
compasses,  which  the  captain  loaned  to  me,  only  re- 
questing me  to  leave  them  with  his  consignees  at  San 
Francisco.  I  regret  that  my  journal  of  this  voyage  was 
lost  and  that  I  cannot  remember  the  name  of  the  Captain 
or  ship.  I  left  the  compasses  as  desired,  but  he  had  not 
arrived  before  I  left. 

We  were  now  getting  into  waters  that  I  had  never  sailed 
in  before  and  had  no  experience  in.  The  barometer  was 
unusually  low  and  I  lost  some  days  in  rounding  the 
Horn,  from  carrying  small  canvas  in  preparation  for  gales 
that  never  came.  But  we  had  very  high  seas,  and  the 
ship's  decks  were  flooded  day  after  day.  Sometimes  she 
would  go  under  water  and  it  seemed  as  though  she  would 
never  come  up.  Rounding  the  Horn  is  going  from  50° 
South  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  50°  South  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  we  made  a  very  good  passage  of  seventeen 
days.  From  50°  South  we  had  mostly  light  winds,  and 
crossed  the  line  in  the  Pacific,  ninety  days  from  New  York. 
From  the  line  we  were  nineteen  days  to  San  Francisco. 
We  made  the  Farallones  early  in  the  morning  and  spoke 
a  pilot  boat.  I  asked  the  price,  and  was  told  eight  dollars 
a  foot — that  meant  on  the  number  of  feet  the  ship  drew 
in  the  water.  Now  I  had  an  excellent  chart  of  the  harbor, 
and  I  thought  if  I  could  not  take  my  ship  into  such  a 
harbor  I  ought  not  to  command  one,  and  I  refused  to 
take  the  pilot.  He  said  I  would  have  to  pay  half  price 
any  way.     I  replied  that  it  was  better  than  paying  full 


92 

price,  which  would  have  amounted  to  one  hundred  and 
sixty  dollars.  As  we  entered  the  Golden  Gate  the  wind 
increased  rapidly,  and  we  went  in  fl}nng,  and  came  to 
anchor  just  where  I  would  have  done  if  I  had  known  all 
about  it.  I  anchored  about  one  mile  and  a  half  from 
shore,  directly  abreast  of  the  office  of  my  agents,  Ma- 
condray  &  Co.  Captain  Macondray  and  Mr.  Watson, 
his  partner,  came  on  board  at  once,  and  congratulated  me 
on  my  short  passage,  and  said  it  was  the  shortest  by  twelve 
days  that  had  been  made.  Great  placards  were  posted 
in  the  streets  saying,  "  Shortest  passage  ever  made  from 
New  York,  one  hundred  and  nine  days.  Ship  Samuel 
Russell,  Captain  Charles  Low,  arrived  this  morning." 
The  next  day,  as  soon  as  I  entered  the  ship  at  the  Custom- 
house, D.  L.  Ross  &  Co.  sent  a  note  to  Mr.  Limeburner, 
the  mate,  offering  to  give  him  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
in  gold  if  he  would  send  their  goods  on  shore  at  once. 
As  these  were  boots  and  shoes,  light  goods,  and  had  nearly 
all  been  stowed  in  the  cabin,  ninety  cases  were  immediately 
put  in  the  lighter  and  sent  ashore.  The  other  cases  were 
found  a  day  or  two  later,  and  again  Mr.  Limeburner  re- 
ceived a  note  saying,  "  We  are  still  ready  to  pay  the  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  if  you  have  found  the  balance." 
And  he  then  sent  the  remainder.  Notliing  more  was  said 
about  it  till  a  few  days  before  we  went  to  sea.  My  mate 
asked  me  what  I  would  give  him  for  that  note  of  D.  L. 
Ross  &  Co.  I  told  him  I  would  give  him  fifty  dollars. 
He  replied,  "You  are  too  willing,  I  guess  I  will  wait." 
A  day  later  I  went  to  my  consignees  and  found  a  note  for 
the  mate  from  D.  L.  Ross  &  Co.,  saying  the  money  was 
ready  when  he  chose  to  call  for  it.  I  had  a  Mr.  Wilkinson 
my  discharging  clerk,  with  me,  and  I  endorsed  the  note 
and  sent  him  to  them  and  he  returned  with  the  one  hun- 


93 

dred  and  fifty  dollars  in  gold.  When  I  handed  it  to  Mr. 
Limebiimer  he  was  struck  dumb.  "Well,"  he  said,  "I 
never  earned  so  much  money  so  easy,  I  would  like  to 
bet  I  lose  half  of  it  before  I  am  ten  days  older."  He  went 
on  shore  and  bought  a  watch  and  chain,  paying  seventy- 
five  dollars  for  them.  We  went  to  sea  and  one  morning 
he  went  out  on  the  jib-boom  and  the  watch  chain  caught 
in  a  hook  and  hauled  the  watch  out  of  his  pocket  and 
broke  the  chain,  and  both  went  overboard.  When  he 
came  aft  to  me  he  said,  "I  told  you.  Captain  Low,  I 
would  lose  half  of  that  money  in  less  than  ten  days." 

And  now  to  go  back  to  our  arrival  in  San  Francisco. 
Captain  Macondray  told  me  all  about  the  mining  ex- 
citement and  said  that  my  crew,  if  not  my  mates,  would 
all  leave  for  the  mines  the  first  chance  they  could  get. 
I  had  a  fine  crew  and  good  oflScers,  and  I  was  loath  to 
have  them  leave  me,  so  as  soon  as  Captain  Macondray 
and  ISIr.  Watson  went  on  shore,  I  called  all  hands  aft  and 
told  them  I  was  aware  that  they  wished  to  go  to  the 
mines,  but  that  there  was  no  hurry  about  it,  and  that  if  they 
would  discharge  the  cargo  I  would  pay  them  the  wages  they 
shipped  for,  and  while  they  worked  discharging  cargo 
would  allow  them  five  dollars  a  day,  stevedore  wages. 
They  could  then  leave  me,  if  they  wanted  to,  and  be  in 
good  shape  to  begin  work  at  the  mines.  They  readily 
agreed  and  ray  three  officers  agreed  to  keep  watch  at 
night,  a  regular  anchor  watch,  an  officer  and  two  men, 
relieved  every  four  hours.  I  felt  quite  safe  and  was  quite 
sure  I  would  get  my  cargo  discharged  in  good  shape.  I 
had  lost  one  of  ray  quarter  boats  in  the  gale  a  short  time 
after  leaving  New  York,  and  had  but  one  left,  which  I 
kept  at  the  davits.  When  we  had  discharged  all  but 
fifty  tons  of  cargo,  I  carae  on  board  in  the  afternoon  and 


94 

was  told  by  the  mate  that  a  very  nice  quarter  boat  had 
been  picked  up  adrift  and  that  it  was  towing  astern.  I 
told  the  men  I  would  advertise  it,  and  whatever  reward 
was  paid  for  it  I  would  divide  among  them.  I  turned  in 
that  night  and  awoke  at  six  a.m.  and  went  on  deck.  No- 
body was  on  deck,  neither  officers  nor  men,  nor  watch.  I 
walked  aft  and  looked  over  the  stem;  the  boat  was 
gone.  I  looked  at  the  davits;  the  quarter  boat  was 
gone.  I  went  to  the  mates'  room  and  found  the  chief 
and  second  mates  snoring  in  their  bunks.  I  called  them 
out  and  told  them  to  muster  all  hands  and  see  who  were 
left.  I  then  found  that  the  third  mate,  sailmaker  and 
nine  men  had  cleared  out,  taking  two  or  three  light  sails, 
a  barrel  of  biscuit,  all  the  cooked  provisions  and  consider- 
able salt  beef  and  salt  pork.  Here  was  a  nice  mess!  I 
had  no  boat  to  go  on  shore  with  and  was  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  shore.  Shortly  after  breakfast,  Captain  Prescott  of 
the  brig  Eagle  came  on  board  and  I  went  on  shore  with 
him  and  offered  a  reward  of  twenty-five  dollars  to  any  one 
who  would  bring  the  boat  back.  These  men  were  so 
foolish  as  to  leave  the  wages  due  them  and  as  much  as 
one  hundred  dollars  apiece  besides,  when  in  three  days 
they  could  have  had  it  in  gold,  and  gone  off  comfortably 
and  honorably.  It  saved  me  enough,  however,  to  pay 
stevedores  to  discharge  the  balance  of  the  cargo,  and 
much  more  besides. 

Some  ten  days  after  my  boat  was  stolen,  my  consignees 
were  dining  on  board  on  a  Sunday,  and  after  dinner  we 
were  sitting  on  the  quarter  deck,  smoking  our  cigars,  when 
a  boat  pulled  alongside  and  a  man  came  on  deck,  walked 
aft  and  asked  for  Captain  Low.  I  replied  that  I  was  the 
man.  He  said,  "  I  understand  you  have  lost  a  boat. "  I 
told  him  I  had  and  he  wanted  me  to  describe  it,  which  I 


95 

did.  He  said,  "  I  have  your  boat."  I  told  him  to  brmg 
it  back  and  I  would  pay  him  twenty-five  dollars,  the  re- 
ward I  had  offered.  He  said,  "  Captain  Low,  I  will  bring 
your  boat  back  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars."  I  told 
him  I  would  not  pay  more  than  twenty-five,  but  I  would 
have  him  arrested  for  having  stolen  property  in  liis  pos- 
session. He  turned  on  his  heel  and  was  over  the  side  before 
I  could  get  up  out  of  my  seat.  The  next  morning  I  went 
on  shore  and  went  into  the  oflSce,  when  Captain  Ma- 
condray  handed  me  a  note.  I  opened  it  and  found  it 
came  from  this  boatman's  lawyers,  saying  I  must  pay  the 
man  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  or  they  should  bring 
suit  against  me  for  the  amount.  I  was  dumbfounded  to 
be  made  to  pay  twice  the  value  of  the  boat  which  was 
my  own  property.  I  showed  it  to  Captain  Macondray 
and  he  smiled  and  told  me  I  was  in  California  where 
they  did  strange  things,  and  he  thought  we  had  better 
go  and  have  a  talk  with  the  lawyers.  They  made  out  a 
very  plausible  case  for  the  man — said  he  was  getting  five 
to  ten  dollars  a  day,  which  he  would  lose,  and  besides  it 
had  cost  him  twenty-five  dollars  to  get  to  San  Francisco 
from  where  he  found  the  boat,  and  then  again,  much 
more  expense  would  be  incurred  if  he  went  after  the  boat 
and  brought  it  down  to  me.  After  talking  a  long  time  I 
paid  him  fifty  dollars  and  agreed  to  send  after  the  boat. 
It  cost  me  fifty  dollars  more  to  get  it,  but  I  could  not  do 
without  it  and  I  could  not  buy  a  new  one  for  less  than 
two  hundred  dollars.  Such  was  San  Francisco  in  18.50. 
After  I  lost  my  boat  I  had  my  carpenter  build  a  skiff 
that  would  hold  comfortably  four  people.  Up  to  this 
time  I  had  not  been  ashore  after  dark — there  were  sights 
enougii  to  see  in  the  daytime.  Gambling  houses  and 
saloons  were  all  over  the  city;  on   the  side  walks   you 


96 

could  see  tables   and  piles   of  gold,   and  rough   miners 
gambling  from  morning  till  night,  and  inside  the  saloons 
from  night  till  morning.     One  afternoon  Captain  Kane, 
of  the  ship  Tarolinta,  wanted  me  to  meet  liim  on  shore 
after  dark  and  go  and  see  the  sights.     I  had  no  objection 
and  after  dinner  I  took  with  me  Mr.  Wilkinson,  my  dis- 
charging clerk,  and  went  on  shore.     (Our  cargo  was  such 
an    assorted   one   and   there   were   so    many   consignees, 
that  my  agents  would  not  trust  the  first  officer  to  keep  the 
account;  he  had  to  look  out  for  other  tilings  and  miffht 
miss   the  tally   and  lose  track  of  some  goods;  so   they 
preferred  to  pay  a  man  for  the  express  purpose.     Before 
the  cargo  was  all  discharged  I  found  the  wisdom  of  it.) 
We  two  pulled  our  skiff  on  shore  and  met  Captain  Kane 
and  first  went  to  the  largest  and  most  luxurious  gambling 
place  in  the  city,  called  the  "Bella  Union."     It  was  a 
large  building  on  the  Plaza,  lighted  up  with  chandeliers 
filled  with  candles  and  oil  lamps.     As  we  entered  we  saw 
that  the  first  gambling  table  was  run  by  a  large,  coarse- 
looldng    woman.     The    game    was    roulette.     I    brought 
ashore  with  me  three  dollars  and  I  put  down  a  fifty-cent 
piece  on  the  "seven  to  one."     With  singularly  good  luck 
I  won  every  time  till  I  had  over  thirty  dollars.     Captain 
Kane  and  Mr.  Wilkinson  did  not  have  the  same  good 
fortune,  but  I  believe  lost  nothing.     As  I  did  not  desire 
to  gamble  for  the  sake  of  gambling,  but  merely  to  see  the 
different  games,  we  went  to  another  table,  and  I  soon 
lost  all  I  had  made,  and  only  had  fifty  cents  left,  while 
my  companions  had  done  well,  so  I  told  them  I  must 
"go  back  to  the  old  lady;"  and  I  did  and  won  over  tliirty 
dollars  again.     Li  a  very  short  time  I  was    reduced  at 
another  table  to  my  fifty  cents  and  again  had   recourse 
to  the  roulette,  where  I  won  some  twenty  dollars.      Then 


97 

I  tried  another  game  and  was  fortunate  enough  to  win 
over  fifty  dollars.  It  was  getting  late,  and  we  had  seen 
most  of  the  gambling  games,  but  we  went  to  try  one  more 
and  I  lost  most  of  my  gains.  It  was  a  wonderful  and 
most  exciting  experience.  I  presume  there  were  some 
eight  hundred  or  a  thousand  men  and  women  in  the  hall, 
a  band  playing,  and  a  free  lunch  set  in  four  different  parts 
of  the  liall.  The  men  were  all  excited;  piles  of  gold  dust 
were  on  the  tables,  and  next  to  them  the  owners  laid  their 
revolvers  and  knives.  I  had  a  few  dollars  left,  and  I 
suggested  trying  the  old  lady  at  the  roulette  table  again; 
but  my  luck  was  gone  and  I  left  the  place  without  a  cent. 
I  did  not  feel  very  badly  for  I  had  really  lost  only  three 
dollars  and  I  had  received  more  than  their  value  in  fun 
and  experience.  We  had  a  worse  time  before  we  regained 
ray  ship. 

It  was  near  twelve  o'clock  when  we  got  into  our  skiff 
and  dark  as  pitch,  with  a  strong  ebb  tide  running.  Cap- 
tain Kane  and  Mr.  Wilkinson  took  the  oars,  and  I  steered. 
Captain  Kane  and  myself  both  realized  the  danger  we 
were  in,  and  concluded  to  catch  hold  of  the  first  vessel  we 
came  across.  We  soon  saw  a  barque  ahead  with  a  scow 
astern ;  we  were  being  rapidly  borne  by  the  tide  away  from 
her,  and  just  as  we  were  alongside  of  the  scow  Captain 
Kane  broke  liis  oar.  Mr.  Wilkinson,  however,  managed 
to  catch  the  side  of  the  scow,  and  we  all  jumped  into  her. 
It  was  a  flat-bottomed  craft,  used  for  lightering  coal,  only 
about  five  feet  deep.  As  we  stepped  into  the  bottom 
there  was  a  foot  of  water  in  it,  cold  as  ice.  The  wind  was 
cold  too,  and  though  we  hailed  the  barque  we  could  get 
no  answer.  On  looking  around,  however,  we  found  a 
small  yawl  boat  towing  astern.  As  my  skiff  had  floated 
oflF  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Captain  Kane  took  the  yawl 


98 

and  said  he  would  go  on  shore  and  get  a  boatman  to 
come  out  and  take  us  off.  We  wished  him  good  luck, 
but  I  for  one  did  not  expect  he  would  find  us  before  day- 
light. Mr.  Wilkinson  and  myself  got  up  onto  the  after 
end  of  the  scow,  and  there  we  sat,  wet  up  to  the  knees; 
there  was  no  place  to  walk  and  we  were  half  frozen.  We 
sat  there  over  an  hour,  when  we  heard  a  hail  from  Captain 
Kane,  which  we  answered,  and  he  was  soon  alongside 
with  a  Whitehall  boat  and  two  experienced  boatmen. 
They  hesitated  a  long  time  about  trying  to  find  my  ship, 
but  wanted  to  take  us  on  shore  to  stay  till  daylight.  How- 
ever, they  consented  to  try  for  the  ship,  and  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  we  got  on  board,  all  tired  out  and 
half  frozen.  We  had  to  pay  the  boatmen  a  good,  round 
sum  for  the  night's  work.  I  lost  my  skiff,  and  the  Captain 
of  the  barque  lost  his  boat,  for  Captain  Kane  left  it  on 
shore.  I  believe,  however,  that  Captain  Kane  found  him 
out  and  told  him  where  he  could  get  it.  It  was  lucky 
that  we  got  safely  back  to  the  ship,  for  it  is  no  child's 
play  to  be  in  San  Francisco  Bay  on  a  dark  night,  with  a 
strong  ebb  tide  running,  in  a  poor  boat  and  with  only 
one  oar.  A  few  days  after  this  experience,  my  second 
mate,  with  the  men  whom  I  had  sent  up  the  river  after 
the  quarter  boat,  arrived  safely,  the  boat  in  good  order. 
I  was  reheved  to  see  them,  for  it  had  been  very  uncertain 
whether  they  would  come  back  or  not. 

We  were  now  nearly  ready  for  sea,  and  the  question 
was  where  to  get  a  crew.  The  shipping  officers  told  me 
it  would  be  impossible  to  get  sailors  to  take  my  ship  to 
China,  as  sailors  were  getting  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
in  gold  to  go  to  Honolulu,  and  I  should  have  to  take  my 
chances  of  getting  men  there  from  the  whalers,  or  take 
Kanakas.     I  had  to  do  this.     I  shipped  fifteen  men  at 


99 

that  price,  and  on  the  fourteenth  of  June  I  went  on  shore 
to  get  my  crew  on  board.  I  had  some  eight  or  ten  on  the 
wharf  and  we  were  waiting  for  the  rest,  when  the  cry  of 
"  Fire ! "  was  raised,  and  before  I  had  time  to  turn  around 
my  men  were  gone.  I  discharged  the  boatman,  and 
concluded  to  go  myself.  The  fire  started  just  a  little  above 
the  wharf  at  Washington  Street  and  spread  at  a  terrible 
rate.  I  had  a  great  many  friends  in  the  city,  and  I  helped 
as  much  as  I  could,  and  worked  all  day  long;  but  it  was 
of  no  use,  for  the  fire  had  the  most  of  the  city  in  its  grasp 
and  devoured  ever}i;hing  before  it.  Houses  built  of  sheet 
iron  curled  up  and  were  destroyed  almost  as  soon  as  the 
wooden  houses  next  to  them.  The  firm  of  G.  B.  Post 
&  Co.,  my  ship  chandlers,  was  located  on  the  beach  near 
Market  Street — it  is  now  Montgomery  Street.  Their 
building  was  a  one  story,  wooden  building,  and  at  least 
one  hundred  feet  away  from  any  other.  I  got  down  there 
about  four  in  the  afternoon  and  proposed  to  Captain 
Parker  that  we  should  cover  the  building  with  blankets 
and  wet  them  down  with  salt  water.  He  agreed  to  it, 
and  we  cut  open  several  bales  of  blankets  and  with  a 
strong  force  of  men  to  help,  soon  covered  the  roof  and  sides. 
We  kept  at  work  pouring  salt  water  on  them  while  the 
fire  was  raging  in  a  lumber  yard  near  by.  Meantime  the 
Mayor  and  city  officials  had  come  on  the  scene.  They, 
as  well  as  most  of  the  citizens,  had  too  much  liquor  on 
board  and  were  very  much  excited,  and  ordered  the  build- 
ing to  be  blown  up.  They  had  already  placed  powder  in 
the  house  before  they  thought  of  calling  us  from  the  roof. 
We  scrambled  down  pretty  quickly  and  protested  against 
such  a  foolish  thing,  but  it  was  of  no  use;  a  train  was 
laid  to  the  powder  and  away  she  went,  and  in  less  than  a 
half  hour  nothing  was  left  but  ashes.     I  lost  a  very  fine 


100 

overcoat  that  I  had  left  m  the  office.  When  the  fire  had 
about  burned  itself  out  I  went  across  Market  Street 
to  Macondray  &  Co.'s.  This  being  a  very  wide  street, 
there  was  no  danger;  but  as  they  had  seventy-five  thousand 
dollars  of  the  ship's  money,  I  was  still  anxious,  and  re- 
mained there  all  night.  The  next  day  buildings  were 
going  up  in  all  parts  of  the  burnt  district.  Never  were 
there  a  more  plucky  set  of  men  than  the  San  Francisco 
merchants. 

As  early  as  I  could  I  went  to  see  my  shipping  merchants 
to  find  my  crew,  but  little  satisfaction  could  I  get  from 
them.  However,  I  was  determmed  to  try  for  the  men, 
and  with  two  policemen  and  one  of  the  shipping  officers 
I  went  to  a  sailor  boarding  house,  wliich  we  found  filled 
with  sailors  sitting  around  tables,  with  piles  of  gold 
before  them,  gambling  and  drinking.  As  soon  as  I  made 
"my  appearance  they  sang  out,  "  Hallo,  Captain !  come  and 
have  a  drink!"  I  asked  if  the  crew  of  the  Samuel 
Russell  were  there,  and  they  replied,  "Oh  yes.  Cap.,  we 
are  all  here  and  we  are  going  to  stay  for  the  present." 
And  some  of  them  began  to  blackguard  the  ship,  calling 
her  all  sorts  of  names,  and  I  saw  it  was  time  to  leave. 
Sailors  in  those  days  had  no  liking  for  captains  and  officers 
of  ships  and  the  policemen  advised  me  to  wait  awhile. 
The  shipping  officers  said  they  would  try  and  find  a  crew 
as  soon  as  possible  and  I  did  wait  until  the  next  day, 
when  I  found  a  crew  willing  to  ship  by  the  run  to  Hono- 
lulu. They  wanted  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars 
apiece  and  were  to  be  discharged  as  soon  as  the  ship  was 
safely  anchored  at  Honolulu.  My  conscience  went  against 
it,  but  Macondray  &  Co.  advised  me  to  take  them  while 
I  could  get  them,  so  I  shipped  fifteen  very  good  men  and 
got  them  on  board.     On  the  sixteenth  of  June  we  sailed. 


101 

but  I  had  to  pay  every  man  liis  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  dollars  in  gold  before  they  would  go  to  work  getting 
the  anchor.  1  was  glad  enough  to  get  away  from  such  a 
garabhng  den  and  be  at  sea  again. 

The  first  two  days  we  had  a  fine  breeze,  but  afterwards 
had  fight  and  baflling  winds.  We  however  made  a  very 
good  passage  of  fourteen  days  to  Honolulu.  We  ran  in 
as  close  to  the  breakers  as  I  dared,  and  let  go  the  anchor, 
but  the  chain  fouled  and  would  not  run  out  fast  enough 
to  get  a  hold,  and  I  let  go  the  second  anchor.  But  the 
ship  had  got  stern-way  and  was  driftmg  off  the  land  very 
fast.  At  that  time  there  were  some  fifty  fathoms  of  chain 
out  on  each  anchor  and  when  we  went  to  work  to  get 
them  it  proved  to  be  a  big  job.  An  English  pilot  came 
on  board  and  told  me  I  must  slip  my  anchors,  but  I  told 
hira  I  was  going  to  try  for  them  first.  We  hove  away  for 
some  time  when  a  French  man-of-war,  which  was  lying 
there,  sent  a  crew  of  twenty  men  and  an  officer  to  help 
me.  They  were  too  strong  for  my  windlass,  wliich  was 
broken  by  the  great  strain.  The  pilot  was  very  mad  and 
the  men  called  him  a  hog  in  French.  He  came  to  me  and 
told  me  of  it  and  I  said  I  did  not  understand  French,  but 
I  thought  they  were  about  right.  As  I  had  no  tackles 
strong  enough  to  get  the  anchors,  the  French  oflScer  went 
on  board  his  ship  and  brought  back  more  men  with  their 
heavy  heaving-in  tackles,  and  after  working  all  night  we 
secured  both  anchors.  When  daylight  appeared  we  were 
nearly  out  of  sight  of  Honolulu  and  dead  to  leeward,  and 
had  a  job  to  beat  back,  the  Frenchmen  on  board  helping 
us  in  ever}'  way.  It  was  four  in  the  afternoon  when 
Captain  Meiggs,  an  American  pilot,  came  on  board  and 
took  us  safely  into  the  harbor.  The  French  sailors  would 
not  leave  us  till  all  the  sails  were  furled  and  deck  cleared. 


102 

I  gave  the  officer  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  divide 
amongst  his  men,  but  I  doubt  if  they  got  a  cent,  for  the 
next  day  as  I  was  pulling  on  shore,  one  of  the  French  boats 
was  going  out,  and  the  coxswain  hailed  me  and  asked  me 
if  I  did  not  give  money  to  the  officer  for  them.  I  told 
them  yes,  and  how  much.  I  heard  them  say  "  Sacre- 
damel"  and  jabber  in  French  till  they  were  out  of  sight. 
As  soon  as  we  were  safely  anchored  the  men  I  had  shipped 
in  San  Francisco  took  their  leave  and  went  on  shore; 
their  time  was  up  and  they  had  earned  their  money  very 
easily.  It  took  fifteen  days  to  repair  the  windlass.  In 
New  York  it  could  have  been  done  in  four  or  five. 

Honolulu  then  was  a  very  small  place,  and  about  the 
only  business  there  consisted  in  supplying  whalers  with 
stores,  and  shipping  their  oil  to  New  York  and  New  Bed- 
ford. Kamehameha  Third  was  King  and  he  had  many 
nobles  in  his  household.  His  Prime  Minister  was  John 
Stephens,  a  fine  looking  man,  six  feet  tall  and  large  in 
proportion.  Through  the  American  Minister  I  sent  him 
an  invitation  to  dine  with  me,  with  several  of  the  most 
prominent  members  of  his  council,  and  he  accepted. 
He  was  much  pleased  with  the  ship  and  before  he  left  he 
invited  me  to  use  his  horses  at  any  time,  but  not  being  a 
horseman,  I  did  not  take  advantage  of  his  offer.  John 
Stephens  came  to  me  one  day  and  wanted  me  to  join  a 
party  to  go  up  the  valley  on  a  picnic,  to  which  there  were 
several  Americans  going.  We  went  and  had  a  very  good 
time.  The  capacity  of  these  natives  for  stowing  away 
liquor  was  something  marvellous;  a  bottle  of  brandy  and 
a  bottle  of  champagne  were  nothing  to  them.  On  the 
Fourth  of  July  all  the  Americans  in  the  place  and  some 
fifty  natives  were  invited  to  a  native  feast  at  Waiatiti, 
some  eight  miles  from  Honolulu,  where,  as  I  recollect,  over 


103 

one  hundred  people  sat  down  to  dinner,  and  such  a  dinner 
I  never  tasted  meats  and  fowls  so  beautifully  cooked.  A 
large  trench  had  been  dug  and  large  fires  built  near  it  in 
which  stones  were  heated  red  hot.  They  were  then  placed 
in  the  trench,  and  turkeys,  chickens,  mutton  and  all  the 
eatables  were  done  up  in  plantain  leaves  and  placed  on 
the  stones  and  the  trench  filled  with  earth.  All  the  juices 
of  the  meats  were  thus  preserved  and  they  were  cooked  to  a 
nicety  and  were  perfectly  delicious.  Champagne  and  other 
drinkables  were  in  profusion  and  the  crowd  was  a  jolly 
one.  It  was  the  biggest  dinner  I  ever  attended,  but  I 
was  glad  to  get  back  to  the  ship.  I  think  the  natives 
kept  it  up  all  night. 

The  windlass  having  been  repaired  and  all  made  ready 
for  sea,  and  being  unable  to  secure  any  white  sailors,  I 
shipped  seventeen  Kanakas.  They  had  never  been  to 
sea,  and  could  talk  very  little  English,  but  they  were  bom 
sailors,  strong  and  active  and  very  willing,  and  they  learned 
very  quickly.  Just  before  going  to  sea,  my  second  mate 
fell  down  the  hold  and  broke  his  collar  bone,  and  was  laid 
up.  As  I  had  no  third  mate,  I  had  to  stand  my  watch, 
and  I  told  my  mate  that  we  must  work  hard  to  train  these 
Kanakas  to  take  in  sail  in  a  hurry,  for  we  were  going  to 
China  in  the  typhoon  season,  and  it  was  necessary  to  be 
able  to  shorten  sail  quickly.  So  in  my  morning  watch, 
from  four  to  eight,  I  would  exercise  them  in  reefing  and 
furling  the  sails  on  the  mizzen-mast,  and  the  mate  did  the 
same  in  his  watch.  When  about  two  miles  outside  of  the 
harbor,  I  found  eight  or  ten  women  on  board,  wives  of  the 
Kanaka  sailors.  The  pilot  told  me  they  could  take  care 
of  themselves  and  that  I  need  not  worry.  When  he  was 
ready  to  leave  I  ordered  the  women  to  go.  They  obeyed 
very  leisurely,  took  off  their  clothes  and  made  them  into 


104 

bundles,  which  they  fastened  on  top  of  their  heads,  went 
down  the  side  ladder,  dropped  overboard  and  started  for 
shore.  We  watched  them  till  they  were  out  of  sight. 
They  made  great  headway  and  they  must  have  covered 
the  distance  in  a  little  over  an  hour.  The  Kanakas  I 
had  shipped  at  fifteen  dollars  a  month,  and  I  gave  bonds 
for  five  hundred  dollars  to  return  them  to  Honolulu. 
We  had  fine  weather  and  many  calms,  and  the  mate  and 
myself  exercised  the  men  every  morning  till  they  could 
handle  the  canvas  very  quickly.  The  mate  was  rather 
rough  on  them  and  I  was  continually  telling  him  to  "  have 
patience."  One  morning  I  had  the  watch  and  had  just 
called  the  mate  at  seven  bells,  when  a  squall  came  down 
upon  us  and  I  ordered  the  royals  taken  in.  One  Kanaka 
was  rather  slow  in  getting  along  and  I  gave  him  a  rap 
over  the  head  and  started  him  moving.  Just  as  I  did  so, 
I  heard  the  voice  of  the  mate  saying,  "Have  patience. 
Captain  Low,  have  patience!"  He  had  just  turned  out, 
and  was  standing  in  the  companion-way  and  enjoyed 
giving  me  some  of  my  own  medicine. 

Without  having  encountered  any  bad  weather  we 
anchored  in  Hong  Kong,  fifty-one  days  from  San  Fran- 
cisco, having  sailed  seven  thousand  four  hundred  and 
sixty-two  miles.  We  were  ordered  to  Whampoa  at  once, 
and  we  arrived  there  August  twenty-fifth,  1850. 

My  brother  Edward  was  there  to  meet  me  and  he  told 
me  it  would  probably  be  two  or  three  months  before  I 
could  load  for  home,  but  that  I  should  load  at  Whampoa. 
In  coming  up  the  river  with  very  high  spring  tides,  the 
pilot  ran  us  ashore  on  the  first  bar  of  the  river,  where  we 
lay  for  twelve  hours,  and  at  low  water  the  ship  keeled 
over  on  her  beam  ends.  It  being  very  hot,  my  splendid 
Newfoundland   dog   went   mad,   and   tumbled   into   the 


105 

hold  and  was  killed.  I  thought  everj^hing  of  him  and 
I  felt  as  badly  as  if  I  had  lost  a  dear  friend. 

When  we  got  off  the  bar  I  thought  best  to  take  the  ship 
into  the  dry  dock,  and  as  a  result  of  the  survey  made  I 
was  recommended  to  have  her  caulked  and  coppered. 
It  was  certainly  necessary,  for  her  copper  was  worn  very 
badly.  She  had  come  to  no  harm  while  on  shore,  but  the 
copper  had  worn  out.  As  we  were  stripping  the  copper 
off  we  had  to  have  a  strict  watch  set  to  see  that  the  China- 
men did  not  steal  it,  but  instead  of  the  Chinamen,  it  was 
ray  Kanaka  crew  who  were  caught  stealing,  so  I  was  very 
glad  that  an  opportunity  occurred  to  send  them  back  to 
the  Islands.  I  had  to  pay  for  each  one's  passage  fifty 
dollars,  and  I  got  a  Consul's  certificate  showing  I  had  kept 
to  my  bond. 

The  time  passed  very  pleasantly  as  usual  in  Whampoa; 
hardly  a  day  went  by  but  that  a  dinner  was  given  on  some 
ship,  and  clerks  came  down  from  Canton  and  joined  in; 
so  with  trips  to  Canton  for  three  or  four  days  or  a  week, 
the  time  slipped  away  veiy  rapidly.  About  the  tenth  of 
October,  1850,  we  began  to  load  for  New  York,  and  on 
the  twenty-eighth  we  finished  and  got  ready  for  sea.  To 
my  surprise  my  brother  said  he  was  going  home  with  me, 
also  Mr.  Hallam,  tea-taster  for  Russell  &  Co.,  Mr.  Bur- 
dett  and  his  sister,  Mrs.  Haskell,  and  two  or  three  others 
whose  names  I  have  forgotten.  We  had  a  cabinful  and 
all  were  pleasant  people.  By  October  twenty-ninth  we 
were  out  in  the  China  Sea  and  homeward  bound.  I  had 
secured  a  ton  of  ice,  and  I  gave  it  in  charge  to  Mr.  Hallam, 
who  took  such  good  care  of  it  that  it  lasted  to  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  forty-eight  days  out.  He  would  fill  bottles 
of  water  and  place  them  on  top  of  the  ice  and  only  allow 
ice  water  at  meal  times. 


106 

During  the  voyage  home  my  brother  gave  me  a  book 
describing  a  trip  from  New  York  through  the  southern 
states  to  Mobile  and  New  Orleans  and  up  the  Mississippi 
to  Lake  Michigan  and  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  then  down 
through  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Montreal  and  Quebec,  down 
Lake  Champlain  and  Lake  George,  through  the  White 
Mountains  to  Maine,  and  back  through  Boston  to  New 
York.  It  was  the  most  interesting  book  of  travel  I  ever 
read,  and  every  night  my  brother  talked  it  over  with  me, 
and  we  decided  that  I  must  stay  at  home  one  voyage  and 
take  the  trip  with  him.  I  was  very  much  excited  over  it 
and  promised  him  I  would  go  with  him  surely.  We  had 
a  jolly  crowd  on  board  and  Mr.  Burdett  had  a  splendid 
cornet  which  he  knew  how  to  play.  This  enlivened  the 
evenings  and  helped  to  pass  away  the  time.  We  crossed 
the  equator  in  the  Atlantic  in  seventy-one  days,  and  had 
a  fine  run  of  eighteen  days  to  Sandy  Hook.  We  carried 
warm  weather  all  the  way  and  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of 
January,  1851,  when  we  took  the  pilot,  the  thermometer 
was  76°  and  we  had  not  changed  our  white  linen  jackets 
and  trousers.  On  getting  inside  the  Hook  the  weather 
grew  chilly  and  we  went  on  board  the  tug  boat  to  shave, 
as  we  had  no  fire  on  the  ship.  We  hauled  alongside  of 
the  wharf  early  in  the  afternoon.  At  night  the  wind 
came  out  a  howling  gale  from  the  northwest  and  next 
morning  the  thermometer  stood  two  degrees  below  zero, 
a  fall  of  seventy-eight  degrees  in  less  than  twenty-four 
hours!  It  was  the  greatest  change  in  temperature  I  ever 
experienced,  and  it  took  hold  of  my  brother  and  myself 
as  we  went  from  Brooklyn  to  New  York.  I  was  thankful, 
though,  that  we  got  into  port  as  we  did,  for  otherwise  there 
would  have  been  a  week's  detention  with  a  ship  covered 
with  ice. 


107 

The  first  day  after  my  arrival  I  had  to  enter  the  ship  at 
the  Custom-house,  make  up  my  accounts,  pay  off  the 
crew  and  finish  everything  that  pertained  to  the  voyage. 
My  brother  was  with  me  all  the  time  and  we  still  talked 
of  our  trip  till  we  had  been  in  port  four  or  five  days.  But 
when  I  went  to  the  office  one  morning  my  brother  Abbot 
called  me  to  him  and  said  he  wanted  me  to  go  up  to 
Westervelt's  yard  and  see  the  new  ship  they  were  building, 
and  see  what  I  thought  of  her.  Of  course  Edward  went 
with  me,  and  I  found  a  ship  on  the  stocks  a  third 
larger  than  the  Samuel  Russell.  We  went  all  over  her, 
and  a  finer  and  handsomer  ship  was  never  built.  I  ex- 
pressed myself  as  highly  delighted  with  her,  and  said  to 
myself  that  if  I  could  have  command  of  such  a  vessel 
it  would  be  the  height  of  my  ambition.  We  went  back  to 
the  office  and  my  brother  wanted  to  know  how  I  was 
pleased.  I  told  him  she  was  the  most  beautiful  vessel  I 
had  ever  seen.  He  replied  that  he  wanted  me  to  go  the 
next  morning  and  take  charge  of  her  and  see  to  her  fitting 
out.  I  almost  lost  my  breath,  and  turning  around  to  my 
brother  Edward  said,  ' '  The  Straits  of  Mackinaw  and  that 
delightful  trip  of  ours  must  be  put  off;  I  would  not  give  up 
such  a  ship  as  the  N.  B.  Palmer  for  all  the  pleasure  trips 
in  the  world."     All  he  said  was,  "I  do  not  blame  you." 

A.  A.  Low  &  Bros,  handed  the  Samuel  Russell  over  to 
Captain  Limebumer,  who  was  well  worthy  of  the  com- 
mand, and  I  took  charge  of  the  A'^.  B.  Palmer.  I  had  very 
little  to  do,  however,  till  she  was  launched,  as  her  hull 
was  not  completed,  but  I  went  to  the  ship  yard  every 
day,  being  greatly  interested  in  the  work.  I  often  spent 
many  hours  in  the  Novelty  Iron  Works  close  by,  watching 
the  men  handle  the  great  shafts  of  iron  and  other  large 
pieces  of  machinery. 


108 

Sometime  in  March,  1851,  the  ship  was  ready  for 
launching;  she  had  all  her  spars  aloft,  royal  and  skysail 
yards  crossed,  and  she  looked  splendid — no  ballast  but 
her  chain  cables  in  the  hold.  Captain  Palmer,  to  my 
disgust,  put  me  in  charge  of  a  steam  tug  with  a  large 
number  of  young  girls  and  men  and  women  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, to  go  and  see  the  launching  from  the  water. 
I  wanted  to  be  launched  in  the  ship.  However,  I  had  a 
jolly  crowd  to  take  care  of  and  we  had  a  fine  lunch,  cham- 
pagne and  cigars  on  board,  and  a  better  view  of  the  launch- 
ing than  they  had  from  the  shore.  It  was  a  splendid 
sight  to  see  that  huge  craft  slide  down  the  ways  into  her 
native  element.  After  it  was  over,  we  went  back  to  Peck 
Slip  and  landed  the  passengers  and  I  went  up  to  the  ship- 
yard and  found  the  ship  alongside  the  wharf,  leaking  like  a 
sieve,  and  Captain  Palmer  in  no  good  humor.  It  was  too 
late  to  get  her  on  the  dry  dock  so  we  had  to  have  men  to 
pump  her  out  every  four  hours  through  the  night.  Upon 
getting  her  to  the  dry  dock  the  next  day,  and  up  high  and 
dry,  we  found  a  hole  where  a  locust  trenail  had  been  left 
out.  This  piece  of  locust  was  used  to  fasten  the  plank 
to  the  timbers,  and  was  an  inch  and  a  quarter  in  diameter; 
and  a  lot  of  water  can  be  forced  through  such  a  hole. 
After  bemg  repaired  the  ship  was  towed  down  to  Peck 
Slip  to  load  for  California. 

As  there  was  now  little  for  me  to  do,  I  proposed  to  my 
brothers  to  give  me  a  vacation.  Since  going  to  sea  I 
had  had  no  let  up,  and  I  thought  I  deserved  it;  besides, 
my  brother  Haskell  was  anxious  that  I  should  get  married, 
and  I  was  willing.  He  said  there  was  a  Miss  D.  who  lived 
in  South  Danvers,  the  handsomest  girl  in  the  town,  and 
through  his  brother-in-law,  who  lived  there,  he  would  give 
me  an  introduction.     So  having  received  permission  to 


n 

r 

-0 

"0 

m 

CO 

I 

-0 


03 


-0 

J- ■ 

> 

''  V 

r 

•    ■ 

2 

5  • 

n 

AX 

33 

109 

leave,  I  started  one  fine  afternoon  in  April  for  my  vacation 
trip.  I  first  went  to  New  Hampshire  to  see  some  old 
friends  of  mine  and  then  to  Salem,  Mass.  I  put  up  at 
the  Essex  House,  and  sallied  out  from  there  to  South 
Danvers,  and  found  out  Mr.  William  Cutler  and  was 
received  very  cordially.  I  was  invited  to  a  party  the  next 
evening  to  meet  a  number  of  young  ladies,  and  Miss  D, 
was  to  be  one  of  them.  I  do  not  remember  much  about 
any  of  them,  but  I  do  know  I  was  not  smitten  by  the 
beauty  of  Miss  D.  I  did  not  take  to  her  at  all,  though  she 
was  handsome.  Night  after  night  I  was  invited  to  parties, 
but  I  was  not  at  first  carried  away  by  any  of  the  young 
ladies  of  South  Danvers.  Finally,  at  one  of  the  usual 
gatherings,  it  happened  that  eight  or  ten  young  ladies 
were  asked  to  sing,  but  each  and  every  one  had  a  cold — or 
something  else  was  the  matter — and  wished  to  be  excused, 
until  at  last  a  very  prim  young  girl  with  black  eyes,  was 
asked.  She  said  not  a  word  but  without  any  affectation 
went  to  the  piano,  and  played  and  sang  as  long  as  they 
wanted  her  to.  As  soon  as  I  heard  her  voice  I  went  and 
leaned  over  the  piano  and  looked  at  her,  and  I  was  a 
"goner."  I  said  to  myself,  "That  is  the  girl  for  me." 
I  ate  a  philopena  with  her  and  after  the  party  I  went 
back  to  the  Hotel  and  was  happy.  The  next  morning  I 
went  to  see  her  to  philopena  her  but  she  opened  the 
door  and  was  too  smart  for  me  and  philopened  me,  just 
what  I  wanted  her  to  do.  I  had  hired  a  horse  and  green 
chaise,  and  I  asked  her  to  go  and  take  a  ride.  She  said 
she  could  not  go  without  her  mother's  consent.  That 
was  all  right,  and  we  soon  had  that  consent,  and  were  off. 
Where  we  went  I  do  not  know,  but  we  must  have  driven 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles,  and  I  had  never  driven  a  horse 
before !     But  I  did  finely.     When  we  got  back  to  the  house 


110 

her  cousin  was  there  and  I  got  him  to  hold  the  horse  till 
we  got  out.  (I  was  rather  uncertain  about  how  to  bring 
the  team  to  an  anchor.)  There  is  not  much  more  to  say. 
I  was  very  happy,  and  forgot  all  about  my  ship  and  that 
I  was  captain  of  one  and  had  got  to  leave  my  beloved,  till 
I  was  rudely  awakened  by  a  letter  from  my  father,  asking 
where  I  was,  and  telling  me  that  the  ship  was  almost  ready 
for  sea  and  that  I  ought  to  be  on  hand  attending  to  my 
duty.  I  believe  I  had  not  written  a  word  home  since  I 
left.  I  immediately  got  ready  to  return.  I  think  I  had 
known  Miss  Tucker  some  six  days  or  a  week.  I  pro- 
posed to  her  and  was  accepted.  I  left  at  once  for  New 
York  and  arrived  at  my  home  in  Brooklyn  about  ten 
o'clock  at  night,  and  found  my  mother  sitting  up  for  me. 
She  cried  out,  "  Charles,  where  have  you  been  ?  "  I  told 
her  I  had  been  getting  engaged  and  then  I  had  to  tell  her 
all  about  it.  Well,  she  was  very  much  surprised,  but  on 
the  whole,  pleased.  I  reported  the  next  morning  on  board 
the  ship,  and  was  not  pleased  at  having  been  hurried  home, 
for  I  found  it  would  be  many  weeks  before  the  ship  was 
ready  for  sea.  However,  I  went  to  work,  and  my  story 
became  known  to  all  the  family. 

After  I  had  been  at  home  about  a  week,  I  was  on  board 
ship  one  Saturday  afternoon,  when  at  about  three  o'clock 
my  brother  Abbot,  with  Captain  Palmer  came  on  board. 
I  suppose  I  looked  rather  disconsolate,  for  my  brother 
said,  "Charlie,  you  would  like  to  go  to  South  Danvers, 
would  you  not.?"  I  told  him,  "I  would  indeed,"  and 
Captain  Palmer  spoke  up  and  said,  "Why  should  he  not 
go  ?  "  and  my  brother  said,  "  You  have  time  to  catch  the 
boat  at  five  o'clock,  but  not  much  to  spare,"  and  he  handed 
me  fifteen  or  twenty  dollars  and  told  me  to  be  off.  Well, 
I  had  to  fly,  for  I  must  go  to  Brooklyn  and  pack  my  valise 


Ill 

and  then  get  over  to  Pier  No.  1,  North  River,  New  York, 
to  take  the  Bay  State,  Captain  Jewett,  for  Fall  River — 
But  I  did  it  and  had  time  to  spare — I  only  had  a  few  days 
to  spend  with  my  betrothed,  and  then  back  to  the  ship  I 
went  and  on  the  sixth  of  May  we  left  New  York  for  San 
Francisco  with  light  winds  from  the  southwest.  In 
latitude  82°  north,  longitude  51°  34'  west  we  passed  the 
Brig  Emblem  of  Halifax,  water-logged  and  abandoned, 
mainmast  gone  a  few  feet  above  the  deck,  foremast  and 
fore-topmast  and  bowsprit  and  jib-boom  standing.  It 
had  evidently  been  abandoned  for  some  time  and  we  did 
not  stop  as  there  was  nothing  to  be  gained.  We  crossed 
the  line  twenty-eight  days  from  New  York.  It  was  no 
fault  of  the  ship,  but  of  the  weather,  that  the  passage  was 
so  much  longer  than  my  two  previous  voyages,  for  the  ship 
was  all  I  could  wish  for,  and  much  faster  than  any  ship  I 
had  ever  sailed  in,  and  a  splendid  sea  boat  in  heavy  weather. 
On  the  sixth  of  June  we  passed  the  Island  of  Fernando 
Noronha  off  the  coast  of  Brazil,  a  Portuguese  convict 
settlement  in  5°  south  latitude.  On  the  ninth  passed 
Pernambuco;  about  ten  miles  off  the  to^^Tl  looked  very 
pretty  with  its  white  houses.  With  moderate  breezes 
along  the  South  American  coast  we  made  Statcn  Land 
on  the  third  of  July,  and  on  the  sixth  passed  Cape  Horn, 
sixty-one  days  from  New  York.  We  crossed  the  line  in 
the  Pacific  in  eighty-eight  days  and  on  the  twenty-first  of 
August  entered  San  Francisco  Bay,  one  hundred  and  seven 
days  from  New  York,  two  days  shorter  time  than  my 
passage  in  the  Samuel  Russell.  The  pilot  came  to  an 
anchor  some  three  miles  from  the  wharf,  refusing  to  take 
the  ship  any  further  till  next  day.  I  had  my  boat  lowered 
and  manned,  and  rowed  to  the  city,  where  I  met  Mr. 
Sanford,  the  agent  for  A.  A.  Low    &  Bros.     He  was  a 


112 

regular  driver,  a  Nantucket  man,  and  he  wanted  to  know 
V,  hy  I  had  not  brought  the  ship  up  near  the  wharf.  I  told 
him  "The  pilot  refused  to  bring  her  any  nearer,"  and  he 
said,  "  The  ship  must  come  up  to  the  wharf,"  and  I  said, 
"  If  she  must  come  up,  she  must,"  and  having  found  the 
wharf  we  were  to  tie  up  to,  I  went  back  on  board 
and  told  the  pilot,  "  The  sliip  must  go  to  the  wharf  at  once." 
He  said  he  would  not  take  her.  I  told  him  then  that  I 
would,  and  I  ordered  up  all  hands  and  set  all  the  sails, 
skysail  and  all.  There  was  an  ebb  tide,  and  the  wind 
light  abeam  and  I  knew  I  could  take  the  ship  right  along- 
side of  the  wharf.  We  got  under  weigh  and  went  along 
finely.  I  knew  that  sails  would  stop  a  ship,  as  well  as 
send  her  ahead,  and  I  kept  every  stitch  of  canvas  on  her, 
so  that  if  I  missed  the  wharf  I  could  still  keep  command 
of  her  and  try  again,  but  there  was  no  occasion,  for  as 
soon  as  I  got  near  enough  I  backed  the  main-yard  and 
went  alongside  the  wharf  so  easily  that  there  was  hardly 
a  jar.  The  steamer  Senator  was  lying  alongside  of  the 
next  wharf  and  my  flying-jib-boom  just  lifted  two  of  her 
planks  off  the  wheel-box.  A  great  crowd  on  the  wharf 
cheered  me  most  heartily.  Mr.  Sanford  cried  out,  "  Well, 
done!"  As  soon  as  we  were  made  fast  I  took  in  the 
sails  and  furled  them.  It  was  the  prettiest  piece  of  sea- 
manship ever  done  in  San  Francisco  and  I  received  lots 
of  compliments.  The  pilot  felt  very  mean  about  it;  he 
stayed  down  below  till  we  got  near  the  wharf,  but  said 
nothing. 

W^e  had  no  trouble  this  time;  the  crew  were  paid  off 
and  left,  only  the  ordinary  seamen  and  boys  stayed  by. 
The  stevedores  under  Commodore  Allen  took  charge  and 
the  cargo  was  discharged  in  a  short  time.  Mr.  Sanford 
saved  me  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 


113 

San  Francisco  was  filled  with  smart  men,  and  in  a  year 
the  place  had  greatly  improved.  Wharves  had  been  built, 
and  many  fine  stores  had  replaced  the  wooden  shanties. 
But  there  were  a  great  many  bad  men  in  the  place  and 
they  had  committed  so  many  robberies  and  murders  that 
it  became  necessary  to  have  a  Vigilance  Committee  to 
root  them  out.  One  Sunday  at  noon  I  saw  three  men 
taken  from  the  jail  and  hanged  somewhere  near  Market 
Street,  before  a  great  crowd.  Many  more  were  hanged 
and  many  sent  out  of  the  city  and  warned  that  if  they 
returned  they  would  be  strung  up.  Exciting  times  then, 
but  the  city  was  saved,  and  it  became  very  safe  for  men  and 
women  to  go  around  the  streets  day  or  night. 

After  discharging  the  cargo  we  took  in  some  three  hun- 
di'ed  tons  of  ballast  and  seventy-five  Chinese  dead  bodies 
in  wooden  boxes  as  freight.  At  that  time  captains  re- 
ceived an  eighth  of  money  paid  for  passage,  but  dead 
bodies  were  considered  freight.  So  one  smart  captain, 
to  secure  this  passage  money,  loaded  his  cabin  with  corpses 
and  called  them  passengers.  This  is  a  fact.  He  was 
paid  seventy-five  dollars  for  each  one,  and  as  he  had 
some  hundred  dead  Chinamen  in  his  cabin,  he  pocketed 
a  very  nice  little  sum. 

After  getting  our  ballast  in,  we  hauled  out  into  the 
stream  to  save  wharfage,  as  we  had  to  wait  nearly  a  fort- 
night to  get  a  crew.  Sailors  were  very  scarce  and  wages 
twenty-five  dollars  a  month ;  but  by  the  seventh  of  October 
we  had  enough  men  to  handle  the  ship  and  we  sailed  for 
Shanghai.  I  had  for  passengers  Mr.  Harry  Burdett  who 
had  been  with  me  on  the  Samuel  Russell,  and  came  from 
New  York  with  me,  Stephen  S.  Smith,  a  lumber  merchant 
in  San  Francisco,  and  a  Mr.  Keeler,  who  had  once  been 
a  schoolmate  of  mine.     In  1849,  at  the  beginning  of  the 


114 

gold  fever,  he  and  three  hundred  others  bought  an  old  whal- 
ing bark  and  loaded  her  with  lumber  and  stores  of  all  kinds, 
and  chose  an  old  whaling  Captain  to  take  her  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. He  had  not  been  to  sea  for  some  years  and  he 
thought  this  was  a  good  chance  to  see  the  old  places  where 
he  had  been  so  many  times.  The  first  place  he  stopped 
at  was  Fayal,  one  of  the  Azores.  Then  he  brought  up  at 
the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands;  from  there  he  went  to  Rio 
Janeiro  and  Montevideo;  also  stopped  at  the  Falkland 
Islands  to  shoot  geese  and  other  game.  After  rounding 
the  Horn  he  put  into  Talcahuano,  and  then  went  to  Val- 
paraiso. Here  the  passengers  kicked  when  he  said  the 
7iext  place  he  would  stop  at  was  the  Society  Islands!  It 
had  been  very  pleasant  during  the  first  part  of  the  voyage 
to  see  strange  places,  but  so  long  a  voyage  began  to  be 
rather  tedious.  They  had  been  out  six  months  already, 
and  wanted  to  get  to  their  destination.  So  they  turned 
him  out  and  secured  another  Captain,  but  the  old  bark 
was  a  slow  sailer  and  it  was  very  nearly  a  year  from  the 
time  they  left  the  United  States  before  they  arrived  at 
San  Francisco.  It  was  very  amusing  to  hear  the  old 
Captain  tell  of  his  experience.  He  had  been  very  suc- 
cessful after  his  arrival  and  made  quite  a  little  "pile," 
and  now  was  going  home  by  the  way  of  China  on 
business. 

After  getting  to  sea  we  had  one  good  day's  work  of 
two  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  then  calms  and  then  three 
days'  good  run,  then  many  days  of  calm.  On  the  tenth 
of  November  at  two  p.m.  we  made  out  a  vessel  dismasted, 
eight  miles  to  windward.  We  hauled  on  a  wind  and  beat 
up  to  her,  and  found  her  to  be  the  American  ship  Auster- 
litz,  a  Boston  ship  in  ballast,  bound  from  San  Francisco 
to  China,  Captain  Day.     She  had  been  dismasted  in  a 


115 

cyclone  four  days  previously.  I  lowered  a  boat  and  went 
on  board  to  see  what  could  be  done.  There  was  nothing 
but  her  foremast  standing  and  her  mizzen-mast  with  a 
cross-jack  set.  She  had  four  hundred  tons  of  stone  ballast 
in  her  lower  hold  and  she  rolled  terribly,  with  a  quick, 
jerky  roll,  so  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  stand  on 
your  feet.  She  was  a  rotten  old  tub,  not  fit  to  be  sent  to 
sea.  The  Captain  had  his  wife  and  a  little  girl  of  about 
three  years  old  with  liim.  The  sliip  was  a  long  way  from 
China,  and  it  being  hurricane  season,  it  was  useless  to 
try  to  save  her,  and  after  a  talk  with  the  Captain  I  told  hira 
he  was  justified  in  abandoning  her  and  that  I  would  take 
all  hands  on  board  my  ship  and  land  them  m  China.  I 
then  returned  to  my  sliip;  shortened  sail  to  her  three 
topsails,  and  hove  to  as  close  to  the  Austerlitz  as  it  was 
safe,  and  with  two  of  my  boats  and  one  of  the  other  ship's, 
went  to  work  to  save  some  stores,  canvas,  paints,  rope 
and  other  things  easily  transported.  It  was  slow  work, 
and  it  was  twelve  o'clock  at  night  before  we  had  the  Cap- 
tain, wife  and  child  safely  on  board.  I  told  the  Captain 
he  must  set  fire  to  the  ship  as  she  would  be  dangerous 
for  another  vessel  to  run  in  to.  The  crew  with  their 
dunnage,  and  the  Captain  with  all  his  personal  property, 
being  safely  on  board,  the  wind  quite  fresh,  I  filled  away. 
Captain  Day  felt  very  badly  to  see  the  flames  as  they  rose 
high  in  the  air,  consuming  his  home  in  which  he  had  lived 
for  a  number  of  years.  The  worst  of  it  was  that  at  day- 
light the  wind  died  away  to  a  calm.  If  it  had  only  done 
that  six  hours  sooner,  I  could  have  saved  a  great  deal  more 
of  provisions  and  other  stores,  but  she  was  gone  and  that 
was  the  end  of  her.  The  Austerlitz  had  two  good  officers 
and  fourteen  good  sailors,  so  that  I  was  well  manned  even 
in  case  I  met  with  a  hurricane.     Captain  Day  and  Mr. 


116 

Burdett  and  a  gang  of  men  went  to  work  and  painted  the 
between-decks  and  the  upper  works,  and  my  ship  looked 
finely  to  go  into  Shanghai. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  November  we  were  running  with  a 
fresh  breeze  from  the  east,  when  I  noticed  the  weather 
ahead  looked  very  squally  and  the  sky  very  black  and 
threatening.  The  barometer  was  falling  and  I  felt  sure 
I  was  running  into  a  cyclone.  My  passenger,  Mr.  Smith, 
said  he  would  like  to  see  a  typhoon.  I  told  him  I  would 
show  him  all  I  wanted  to  see  of  one.  At  four  p.m.  the 
wind  came  in  heavy  gusts  and  I  shortened  sail  to  three 
close-reefed  topsails,  but  still  kept  on  my  course;  at  six 
P.M.  there  was  no  doubt  that  I  was  running  right  into  a 
hurricane.  Mr.  Smith  said  he  had  seen  enough,  and 
went  below,  drenched  to  the  skin  from  a  sea  that  toppled 
over  the  quarter  deck.  I  knew  that  the  hurricane  was 
travelling  west  and  that  by  heaving  to  I  could  get  out  of 
it,  so  I  called  all  hands  and  took  in  fore  and  mizzen- 
topsails,  and  hove  ship  with  her  head  to  the  eastward. 
It  blew  a  furious  gale  all  night  and  it  was  nearly  twenty- 
four  hours  before  the  barometer  had  risen  enough  and  the 
weather  settled  enough  for  me  to  make  sail  and  proceed 
on  my  voyage.  That  I  was  wise  in  heaving  to  when  I 
did  was  shown  soon  after  I  arrived  in  Shanghai,  for  the 
report  came  from  there  that  the  ship  Witchcraft,  Captain 
Rogers,  had  put  into  Hong  Kong  dismasted  in  a  typhoon 
in  the  Pacific.  Some  time  after  I  reached  Hong  Kong 
and  saw  Captain  Rogers,  who  was  an  old  friend  of  mine, 
I  compared  logs  with  him  and  found  I  was  only  twenty-five 
miles  to  the  eastward  of  him  when  he  was  dismasted, 
and  that  if  I  had  stood  on  for  two  hours  longer,  I  might 
have  been  in  the  same  fix. 

After  the  typhoon  we  had  good  weather  and  brisk  winds 


117 

from  northeast  to  east  northeast,  and  I  arrived  in  Shanghai 
on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  November,  1851.  After  lying 
there  for  some  two  weeks  I  was  ordered  to  proceed  to 
Whampoa,  and  on  December  eighth  I  left  Shanghai  and 
proceeded  down  the  river,  passed  Gulataff  Island,  and 
in  seventy-five  hours  anchored  in  Hong  Kong.  I  had  sailed 
a  distance  of  eight  hundred  and  forty-six  miles,  an  average 
of  eleven  miles  an  hour;  it  was  about  as  short  a  passage 
as  was  ever  made.  December  fifteenth  I  left  for  Wham- 
poa to  take  in  a  cargo  of  teas  and  silks  for  New  York. 

Nothing  of  moment  happened  that  I  remember,  and 
we  took  in  our  cargo  and  on  the  ninth  of  January  set  sail 
for  home.  At  nine  a.m.  on  the  tenth  we  passed  the  Great 
Ladrone  Islands  near  Macao,  and  with  fresh  northeast 
monsoon  and  rainy  weather  sailed  rapidly  down  the  China 
Sea.  Five  days  out  we  passed  the  Great  Natuna.  In  ten 
days  from  Macao  we  passed  out  of  Sunda  Strait  into  the 
Indian  Ocean.  February  nineteenth  passed  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  forty-four  days  from  Macao.  April  second 
took  a  pilot  and  steamboat  and  at  four  p.m.  hauled  along- 
side the  wharf,  eighty-four  days  from  Macao  to  New  York. 

As  soon  as  I  could  pay  off  the  crew  and  settle  the  account 
of  the  voyage,  I  hurried  off  to  South  Danvers  to  see  the 
girl  I  left  behind  liie.  I  had  a  free  passage  in  the  Bay 
State,  Captain  Jewett,  to  Boston  by  the  way  of  Fall  River, 
and  reached  my  destination  and  found  all  well.  I  could 
not  stay  long  before  I  had  to  go  back  to  my  ship,  but  I 
made  arrangements  to  be  married  on  the  eleventh  of  May. 
My  ship  was  to  leave  about  the  twentieth  for  San  Fran- 
cisco, so  I  had  to  hurry  up,  and  on  the  eleventh  of  May, 
1852,1  was  married  in  South  Danvers  to  Miss  Sarah  Maria 
Tucker,  by  the  Rev.  Charles  E.  Dwinell  of  Salem.  My 
brothers,  Haskell  and  Edward,  were  the  only  ones  of  my 


118 

family  who  were  present,  but  some  two  hundred  of  my 
wife's  friends  were  there.  I  was  a  little  put  out  when  my 
bride  was  about  to  go  down  stairs,  for  the  minister  then 
asked  for  the  marriage  license.  I  never  was  married  before, 
and  knew  nothing  about  licenses  and  no  one  had  informed 
me  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  one;  so  I  had  to  go  and 
hunt  up  the  town  clerk.  Fortunately  he  was  at  home 
and  he  quickly  gave  me  the  document  which  allowed  me 
to  be  married,  and  the  rest  of  it  was  soon  over  and  we  were 
made  man  and  wife.  I  say  it  was  soon  over,  but  I  had  to 
stand  about  two  hours,  shaking  hands  and  receiving  the 
good  wishes  and  congratulations  of  the  company.  The 
next  day  we  left  for  Brooklyn  to  prepare  for  a  wedding  tour 
around  the  world. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  May  the  ship  was  ready  for  sea 
and  was  towed  down  the  Bay  with  a  large  number  of 
friends  to  see  us  off.  The  weather  was  fine  and  at  two 
P.M.  we  cast  off  from  the  steamer,  made  sail  and  soon  left 
the  shore  far  astern.  We  had  some  twenty  passengers  on 
board,  some  four  or  five  ladies  among  them.  The  next 
morning  at  breakfast  my  wife  was  the  only  one  who  joined 
me  at  that  meal;  all  the  rest  were  seasick.  Now  it  is  a 
great  lottery  for  a  shipmaster  in  taking  a  wife,  and  one 
who  has  never  been  on  the  water.  A  wife  may  be  seasick 
all  the  voyage,  or  she  may  be  very  timid  and  afraid  of  a 
squall  or  a  breeze  of  wind,  which  makes  it  very  uncomfort- 
able for  the  husband  as  well  as  herself.  My  first  fear,  of 
her  being  seasick,  was  now  put  at  rest,  and  I  was  soon  to 
know  that  there  was  nothing  to  fear  as  far  as  being  timid 
was  concerned,  for  on  the  tliird  day  out  we  had  a  strong 
breeze  from  the  southwest  and  I  was  carrying  sail  as  much 
as  the  spars  would  allow,  and  the  ship  careened  over  so 
that  the  water  rushed  past  the  port  holes  of  the  cabin  with 


in 
> 

JO 

> 

I 


> 
> 

r 
O 


n 
> 
-a 

^    z 


n 
> 

r 
m 
w 

O 
H 

m 

7: 

r 
O 


119 

a  great  rush.  About  ten  p.m.  the  ladies,  being  scared,  went 
to  my  w  ife's  room  and  asked  her  if  there  was  any  danger. 
She  rephed,  "I  don't  know,  my  husband  is  on  deck." 
They  received  no  other  comfort  from  her,  but  when  I  heard 
of  it,  it  was  a  great  comfort  to  me.  During  the  twenty- 
four  hours  that  followed,  the  ship  made  three  hundred 
and  ninety-six  miles,  a  big  day's  run.  After  this  the  wind 
died  down  and  we  had  pleasant  weather,  and  nothing  of 
interest  happened  until  the  seventh  of  June,  when  we  came 
up  wath  the  clipper  ship  Gazelle,  which  left  New  York 
six  days  before  us.  The  next  day  she  was  twelve  miles 
astern  of  us,  but  we  were  now  in  the  Doldrums,  and  for 
four  days  we  were  in  company  with  the  Gazelle.  Some 
days  she  would  get  a  breeze  and  come  up  to  us  and  again 
we  would  run  away  from  her.  On  the  thirteenth  of  June 
we  took  the  southeast  trades  and  crossed  the  equator 
twenty-four  days  from  New  York,  the  Gazelle  a  long  way 
astern.  We  had  light  trades  from  the  equator  to  the 
latitude  of  32°  south.  At  noon  of  the  first  of  July,  after 
taking  the  sun  for  my  latitude,  a  ship  was  sighted  dead  to 
windward,  and  I  took  the  spy  glass  and  went  up  to  the 
mizzen-top,  and  after  a  good  look  at  her  I  made  up  my 
mind  it  was  the  Flying  Cloud,  that  left  New  York  ten 
days  before  us.  This  ship  on  her  first  voyage  made  the 
passage  to  San  Francisco  in  eighty-nine  days,  and  was 
considered  the  fastest  vessel  ever  built.  She  was  com- 
manded by  Captain  Creesy,  an  old  friend  of  mine,  but  I 
left  San  Francisco  ten  days  after  she  did  and  beat  her  to 
China.  She  left  China  for  New  York  about  the  same 
time  as  the  N.  B.  Palmer  and  I  beat  her  ten  days  on  the 
passage,  and  now  I  had  come  up  with  her,  beating  her 
ten  days  thus  far  and  only  forty  days  out.  I  felt  very 
proud  of  it.     We  were  both  running  before  the  wind  and 


120 

I  was  confident  that  I  could  outsail  her,  so  I  hauled  up 
close  to  the  wind  with  my  studding-sails  shaking  and 
waited  for  her  to  come  up  with  me ;  I  wanted  to  be  certain 
that  it  was  the  Flying  Cloud;  and  sure  enough,  she  ran 
alongside  of  me  and  Captain  Creesy  hailed  me  and  wanted 
to  know  when  I  left  New  York.  I  replied,  "Ten  days 
after  you."  He  was  so  mad  he  would  have  nothing  more 
to  say.  My  ship  was  now  at  a  standstill,  and  he  was 
going  ahead  at  full  speed,  and  he  ran  ahead  of  me.  Shortly 
after  I  filled  away,  the  wind  hauled  ahead,  and  we  had  to 
haul  in  the  studding-sails  and  brace  sharp  on  a  wind,  and 
he  got  quite  a  start  of  me.  I  expected  that  on  a  wind  he 
would  beat  me  at  least  a  mile  an  hour,  but  next  day,  just 
twenty-four  hours  after  he  passed  me  he  was  but  twelve 
miles  ahead.  The  weather  now  changed,  and  for  eight 
days  we  had  heavy  gales  with  snow  and  hail.  In  latitude 
forty-eight  south,  at  midnight,  while  making  sail,  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Lemons  shot  the  mate  through  the  leg, 
and  another  man  by  the  name  of  Dublin  Jack  knocked 
the  second  mate  down  with  a  handspike.  I  was  just 
getting  my  boots  on  to  go  on  deck,  when  the  mate  called 
to  the  steward  to  give  him  a  musket.  I  jumped  out  of 
my  room  and  enquired  what  the  matter  was,  and  the  mate 
told  me  he  was  shot  and  that  I  must  not  go  on  deck.  I 
took  the  musket  in  my  hand,  but  he  said  it  was  not  loaded. 
I  replied  that  it  did  not  matter,  and  bade  him  tell  the  stew- 
ard to  call  the  carpenter  and  sailmaker  and  get  a  lantern 
and  come  on  deck.  The  crew  were  hoisting  up  the  mizzen- 
topsail,  and  as  soon  as  the  sail  was  set  I  ordered  all  hands 
to  pass  before  the  mate  and  myself,  and  told  the  mate  to 
pick  out  the  man  who  shot  him.  He  said  Dublin  Jack 
was  the  one.  I  had  him  put  in  irons,  and  then  the  man 
Lemons  came  up  and  said  he  was  the  man  who  had  shot 


121 

the  mate.  I  started  to  raise  the  musket  to  knock  him 
down,  but  as  I  had  seen  nothing  of  the  row,  and  my  blood 
was  cool,  I  dropped  it  and  asked  him  where  the  pistol  was. 
He  said  he  had  thrown  it  overboard.  I  asked  him  if 
it  was  a  revolver.  He  said  "No,  and  that  if  it  had  been, 
neither  I  nor  my  mate  would  be  alive  now."  I  only  re- 
plied, "You  are  mighty  cool  about  it,"  and  ordered  the 
irons  to  be  put  on  him  and  placed  him  in  the  after  hatch. 
I  took  the  irons  off  of  Dublin  Jack  and  told  him  to  keep  a 
good  lookout  for  himself,  as  I  should  keep  my  eye  on  him. 
He  replied,  "  All  right,  keep  it  on  me."  And  I  meant  to, 
for  I  knew  he  was  a  big  rascal.  I  then  sent  the  watch 
below.  Fortunately  we  had  two  English  surgeons  on 
board,  and  I  sent  the  mate  down  to  have  his  leg  looked  at. 
As  it  was  my  watch  on  deck  I  stayed  there  till  I  saw  the 
second  mate  with  his  arm  in  a  sling  and  asked  what  the 
matter  was.  He  said  that  when  the  mate  was  shot, 
Dublin  Jack  knocked  him  down  with  a  handspike.  I 
told  him  he  should  have  let  me  know  before  I  let  Jack  out 
of  irons,  and  that  would  have  saved  a  good  deal  of  trouble. 
However,  the  men  had  gone  below  and  I  could  do  nothing 
before  morning.  Mr.  Mowbray  and  Mr.  Colby  reported 
to  me  that  the  ball  had  gone  through  the  left  leg  about  a 
foot  above  the  knee;  it  had  not  touched  the  bone  and 
there  was  no  danger  of  the  wounds  proving  serious,  but 
they  said  that  the  mate  must  keep  quiet  for  some  time. 

The  next  morning  I  called  all  hands  to  witness  punish- 
ment. I  had  for  a  crew  thirty  able  seamen,  six  ordinary 
and  four  boys,  and  placed  as  I  was,  with  my  mate  laid  up, 
my  second  and  third  mates  incompetent,  I  felt  that  I  must 
not  show  the  least  fear,  but  must  show  that  I  was  able  to 
take  care  of  my  ship.  I  had  a  rope  stretched  across  the 
ship,  and  told  the  men  that  if  any  of  them  stepped  across 


122 

it  I  would  shoot  them.  I  had  my  pistol  ready,  and  Dublin 
Jack,  for  whom  I  was  on  the  watch,  stepped  one  leg  over 
the  rope.  I  went  for  him  at  once,  caught  him  by  the  throat, 
carried  him  nearly  fifty  feet  and  landed  him  on  the  quarter 
deck,  put  the  irons  on  him  quick  as  a  flash  and  lashed  him 
to  the  mizzen-mast.  Then  I  had  Lemons  taken  out  of 
the  after  hatch  and  triced  up  to  the  mizzen-rigging,  and 
told  the  second  mate  to  give  him  four  dozen  lashes  with 
a  piece  of  ratline  stuff.  He  refused,  saying  he  had  never 
done  such  a  thing.  Neither  had  I,  but  it  was  no  time  to 
falter,  and  I  told  him  to  give  me  the  rope,  and  I  thrashed 
Lemons  well,  for  I  was  angry  at  him  and  angry  at  the 
second  mate  for  not  supporting  me.  He  was  then  taken 
down  and  put  in  the  after  hatch,  and  then  Dublin  Jack 
had  his  turn.  He  wanted  to  know  what  I  was  flogging 
him  for.  I  told  him  for  knocking  the  second  mate  down, 
and  because  I  wanted  to.  After  the  thrashing  was  over 
I  went  forward  and  told  the  men  if  they  were  not  satisfied 
with  the  morning's  work,  to  step  out  one  by  one  and  I 
would  thrash  the  whole  of  them.  Fortunately  for  me, 
none  of  them  wanted  to  try  it,  but  there  is  nothing  like  a 
show  of  strength.  I  then  sent  them  to  breakfast.  After 
they  had  eaten  their  breakfast  I  turned  all  hands  to  and 
worked  them  till  I  found  there  was  no  more  mischief  in 
them,  when  I  let  them  have  their  watch  and  watch,  and 
everything  was  quiet.  But  I  had  a  hard  time  of  it.  Mr. 
Haines,  the  mate,  was  laid  up  for  eighteen  days,  and  the 
second  and  third  mates  were  of  little  account,  so  that  I 
had  to  keep  the  deck  almost  constantly.  The  weather 
was  fearful;  storm  after  storm  with  high  seas  and  snow, 
rain  and  hail,  kept  me  on  deck,  and  for  eighteen  days  I 
did  not  sleep  below,  but  tumbled  down  in  the  comer  of 
the  house  on  deck  in  my  wet  clothes,  and  got  only  a  few 


123 

hours'  sleep  during  the  twenty-four.  I  only  went  to  my 
room  to  wind  my  chronometers  and  take  the  time,  and 
yet  my  wife  in  all  these  troublous  times  never  gave  a 
sign  of  fear,  but  was  braver  than  any  man  in  the  cabin. 
Fifty-seven  days  out  we  passed  Cape  Horn,  but  the  gales 
continued.  On  the  twenty-sixth  of  July  Mr.  Haines 
returned  to  duty  and  I  had  a  little  rest,  but  for  twelve 
days  or  a  fortnight  the  stormy  weather  continued,  the 
wind  being  ahead  most  of  the  time.  We  were  twenty- 
eight  days  from  Cape  Horn  when  we  sighted  the  Andes 
Mountains  near  Valparaiso.  On  the  sixteenth  of  August 
we  anchored  in  Valparaiso  harbor  in  thirty-five  fathoms 
of  water.  In  stowing  the  cargo  in  New  York  the  steve- 
dores had  stowed  the  beef  and  bread  and  coal  under  many 
tons  of  cargo,  so  I  put  into  Valparaiso  to  get  beef,  bread 
and  coal,  and  also  to  send  the  two  mutineers  home  to  be 
tried  for  attempted  murder  on  the  high  seas. 

We  found  there  the  steamer  Brother  Jonathan  under 
command  of  Captain  Baldwin,  and  my  cousin,  C.  Adolphe 
Low,  acting  as  Purser.  They  left  the  next  day  for  San 
Francisco;  it  was  very  pleasant  to  meet  them.  After- 
wards they  established  a  mercantile  house  in  San  Francisco 
under  the  firm  of  C.  Adolphe  Low  &  Co.  and  it  became 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  respected  firms  of  that  city. 

As  soon  as  possible  I  visited  our  Consul,  Mr.  Carroll, 
and  informed  him  of  the  mutiny  on  board  the  ship,  told 
him  that  the  men  were  in  irons  and  that  I  wanted  them  sent 
home  to  be  tried  for  attempt  to  murder  on  the  high  seas. 
He  said  that  he  must  come  on  board  and  take  the  affi- 
davit's of  the  mate  and  myself,  with  a  formal  request  from 
myself  to  have  them  taken  out  of  the  ship  and  sent  home. 
He  did  this  and  then  took  the  men  on  shore  and  placed 
them  in  jail.     I  was  glad  enough  to  be  rid  of  them. 


124 

There  seemed  to  be  no  end  of  trials  for  my  wife  and 
myself  on  this  wedding  tour.     One  afternoon  we  were 
invited  to  dine  with  the  members  of  the  house  of  Alsopp 
&  Co.,  my  agents.     We  had  a  pleasant  time,  and  after 
dinner  went  to  the  Hotel  to  spend  the  night,  but  meeting 
a  very  unpleasant  person  there,  we  decided  to  return  to 
the  ship.     It  was  not  permitted  to  leave  the  shore  after 
dark,  but  we  found  a  boat  at  the  jetty,  with  two  young  men 
in  it,  who  offered  to  take  us  off.     The  first  thing  we  did 
in  getting  into  the  boat  was  to  step  in  about  six  inches  of 
water.     It  was  too  late,  however,  to  make  a  change,  and 
we  pulled  off  into  the  Bay.     We  soon  found  we  could 
not  see,  for  a  dense  fog  had  rolled  in,  and  I  told  my  wife 
we  must  get  on  board  the  first  ship  we  came  to,  or  we  might 
be  carried  out  to  sea.     After  a  while  a  huge  vessel  loomed 
up  before  us  and  I  hailed  her,  told  who  I  was,  and  said  I 
would  like  shelter  till  morning.     We  had  a  hearty  invita- 
tion to  come  on  board,  and  though  it  was  no  trouble  to 
me,  I  hardly  knew  how  my  wife  was  going  to  accomplish 
it.     The  ship  was  flying  light  in  ballast,  and  her  sides  were 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  out  of  water,  with  nothing  but  a 
Jacob's  ladder  to  go  up.     This  is  composed  of  two  ropes 
running  through  pieces  of  board  about  four  inches  wide, 
placed  fourteen  inches  apart;  but  my  wife  was  equal  to 
the  occasion  and  went  up  ahead  of  me  and  we  landed  on 
the  deck  of  an  English  ship.     The  Captain  was  very  kind, 
took  us  into  the  cabin,  which  was  very  small,  and  brewed 
us  some  hot  port  wine  negus  and  gave  up  his  state  room 
to  us.     We  passed  a  very  good  night.     In  the  morning  it 
was  clear,  and  going  on  deck  I  found  my  ship  witliin  hailing 
distance,  and  thanking  the  Captain  for  his  kindness,  we 
hailed  the  N.  B.  Palmer  and  the  mate  soon  appeared 
with  one  of  the  quarter  boats  and  took  us  on  board. 


125 

During  the  night  some  twenty  of  my  men  had  deserted 
the  ship  and  I  had  to  go  on  shore  again  to  report  to  the 
Consul.  He  could  not  help  me  he  said,  for  Valparaiso 
was  noted  for  its  hiding  places,  and  it  would  be  useless 
for  me  to  try  and  find  them.  Well,  I  told  him  I  must 
have  more  men  for  I  could  not  go  to  sea  so  short-handed. 
He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  told  me  that  Valparaiso 
was  the  worst  place  in  the  world  to  get  a  crew,  for  there 
were  nothing  but  beach-combers  and  scoundrels  to  be 
had.  However,  he  promised  to  do  the  best  he  could  for 
me.  Just  as  I  was  about  to  leave  the  office  a  fine-looking 
young  man  stepped  up  to  me  and  asked  if  I  wanted  a 
crew.  I  told  him  I  did,  and  he  said  he  wanted  to  ship  and 
he  had  seventeen  men  who  would  go  with  him;  he  would 
see  them  and  let  me  know  in  the  morning.  As  every  one 
knew  that  there  had  been  trouble  on  board  my  ship,  and 
that  the  greater  part  of  my  crew  had  deserted,  the  idea 
of  shipping  eighteen  men  who  were  shipmates  looked  a 
little  scary,  but  I  could  do  nothing  better  and  I  believed 
the  man  who  spoke  to  me  was  a  good  man  if  I  was  any 
judge  of  character. 

After  leaving  him,  I  thought  I  would  go  on  board  the 
United  States  sloop-of-war  Raritan,  Commodore  IMcAuley, 
and  tell  him  I  wished  him  to  take  the  mutineers  to  New 
York  and  not  to  let  them  have  an  easy  time  of  it.  He 
told  me  he  would  take  good  care  of  them,  and  in  such  a 
way  that  I  was  quite  satisfied. 

By  the  way,  he  said,  my  wife  and  some  other  ladies 
had  just  left  him  and  were  in  the  ward  room.  He  showed 
me  the  way,  and  sure  enough,  there  was  my  wife  with 
three  ladies  and  the  mate.  They  had  persuaded  the  mate 
to  take  them  on  board,  as  none  of  them  had  ever  seen  a 
man-of-war.     I  joined  them,  and  told  my  mate  he  could 


126 

take  the  shore  boat  and  that  I  would  bring  the  ladies  on 
board  in  the  ship's  boat.  When  we  were  ready  I  had 
my  boat  brought  to  the  gangway  and  got  my  wife  and 
Mrs.  Edwards  in.  There  was  quite  a  sea  on,  and  it  was 
difficult  to  keep  the  boat  from  going  under  the  gangway. 
Just  as  we  were  way  down,  Mrs.  Stout  jumped  and  came 
into  my  arms,  and  at  the  same  time  the  boat  was  lifted 
by  the  sea  and  came  up  directly  under  the  lower  steps  and 
was  swamped.  I  got  hold  of  my  wife  and  Mrs.  Edwards 
got  hold  of  me,  and  so  I  had  the  three  ladies  and  myself 
to  hold  while  the  boat  left  me  hanging  to  the  iron  which 
held  the  gangway  up.  The  sailors  on  the  man-of-war 
came  at  once  to  the  rescue,  and  except  for  a  good  ducking, 
no  one  was  hurt.  The  ladies  went  on  board  while  the 
men  were  bailing  the  boat  out,  and  afterwards  got  back 
to  the  ship  in  safety. 

The  next  day  I  went  on  shore  and  saw  my  man  about 
the  crew,  but  I  saw  none  of  the  men.  I  told  him  if  they 
were  all  on  board  at  noon  the  next  day,  sober  and  wilUng, 
I  would  take  them;  otherwise,  I  would  not.  I  left  word 
with  the  consul  to  ship  them,  and  then  gathered  up  my 
stores  and  prepared  to  go  to  sea  the  next  day. 

August  twentieth  the  men  came  on  board  punctually  at 
twelve  o'clock,  and  a  fine  set  of  men  they  were;  all  but 
one  were  perfectly  sober.  I  had  a  few  words  with  the 
one  who  was  rather  the  worse  for  liquor,  and  some  of  his 
shipmates  took  him  forward  while  the  man  through  whom 
I  had  engaged  them  apologized  for  liim.  We  got  under 
weigh  and  proceeded  on  our  voyage,  and  a  better  set  of 
men  I  never  had  under  me.  I  tried  very  hard  to  keep 
them  with  me  after  our  arrival  in  San  Francisco,  but  they 
preferred  to  ship  at  big  wages  by  the  run  to  some  near  port, 
and  work  their  way  back  at  going  wages.     They  were 


127 

making  money  and  were  sa%ang  it,  and  doing  better  than 
if  they  were  working  in  the  mines. 

We  had  pleasant  weather  and  good  trade  winds  and 
made  good  progress.  August  twenty-ninth  spoke  the 
ship  Columbia  of  Salem,  Mass.,  from  New  York  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  days  out,  while  we  were  only  ninety-four 
saihng  days.  On  the  third  of  September  we  were  boarded 
by  Captain  Parsons  of  the  whale  ship  Rebecca  Simms  of 
New  Bedford,  thirty-five  months  out  with  fifteen  hundred 
barrels  of  sperm  oil.  The  rest  of  the  voyage  the  winds 
were  moderate.  On  the  twenty-first  of  September  we 
came  up  with  and  spoke  the  ship  Gazelle.  She  had  been 
run  into  by  a  Spanish  ship  off  Cape  Horn  and  her  bow- 
sprit and  all  her  head-gear  had  been  carried  away.  It  was 
about  ninety-five  days  since  we  had  left  her  just  north  of 
the  equator  in  the  Atlantic,  and  now  again  we  picked  her 
up  in  the  North  Pacific.  On  the  tliirtieth  of  September 
we  made  the  Farallones,  and  at  noon  hauled  alongside 
the  wharf  in  San  Francisco  after  a  passage  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  sailing  days  and  one  hundred  and  thirty 
from  New  York. 

We  lived  on  board  the  ship  and  enjoyed  our  stay  in 
San  Francisco  very  much,  having  considerable  company. 
My  cousin  C.  Adolphe  Low,  and  Mr.  Sanford  and  others 
dined  with  us  often.  Captain  Chapman  of  the  Senator 
(lying  the  other  side  of  the  wharf)  was  running  to 
Sacramento,  and  when  he  came  down  from  there  he 
used  to  send  on  board  a  fresh  salmon,  which  was  very 
fine. 

After  our  cargo  was  mostly  out  my  wife  and  I  had  a 
free  passage  to  Sacramento,  and  we  had  a  very  pleasant 
time.  A  Mr.  Bruce,  an  old  friend,  took  us  to  drive  to 
the  Washington  gold  diggings  about  twenty  miles  from 


128 

Sacramento.  It  was  very  hot;  there  was  no  wind  and 
the  fine  dust  filled  the  air  and  lay  in  the  road  six  feet  deep. 
I  never  saw  anything  like  it.  When  we  got  back  we  were 
a  sight,  covered  from  head  to  foot  with  fine  dirt.  Though 
the  trip  was  pleasant  and  we  would  not  have  missed  it  on 
any  account,  we  were  glad  to  get  to  our  home  on  board 
ship. 

It  is  customary  for  the  crew  and  also  for  the  oflScers,  to 
call  the  Captain  the  "Old  man,"  no  matter  how  young 
he  is,  and  one  morning  when  I  had  gone  on  shore,  the 
carpenter  came  aft  and  asked  the  steward  if  the  "Old 
man  "  was  on  board.  The  steward  said  I  had  gone  on 
shore.  Then  the  carpenter  asked,  "Is  the  'Old  woman' 
on  board  ? "  This  my  wife  heard,  and  being  only  nine- 
teen years  old,  she  rather  resented  it,  though  I  had  a  hearty 
laugh  when  I  heard  of  it. 

We  had  but  three  weeks  in  San  Francisco  and  they 
passed  very  pleasantly.  After  having  taken  in  three 
hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  ballast  we  were  ready  for  sea. 
We  had  some  difficulty  in  securing  a  crew,  but  on  the 
twenty-first  day  of  October  we  left  the  Bay  for  Manila, 
Philippine  Islands.  The  voyage  across  the  Pacific  was 
uneventful.  Light  winds  most  of  the  time,  and  we  ar- 
rived in  Manila  the  sixth  of  November,  forty-five  days 
from  San  Francisco.  We  were  in  Manila  but  nine  days; 
took  in  some  thousand  bales  of  hemp  and  then  sailed  for 
Hong  Kong. 

Manila  was  a  very  pleasant  place  to  visit.  Carriage 
hire  was  very  cheap,  and  in  the  afternoons  most  of  the 
foreign  residents  gathered  at  the  Plaza  to  hear  the  Spanish 
band  play,  and  drive  around  the  shore  of  the  bay.  My- 
self and  wife  had  our  quarters  on  shore  with  Peele,  Hubbell 
&  Co.  where  we  lived  on  the  fat  of  the  land  and  made 


129 

many  acquaintances.  We  were  sorry  to  leave,  and  yet 
were  anxious  to  get  to  our  journey's  end  and  be  on  our 
way  home.  We  had  a  pleasant  passage  of  six  days  to 
Hong  Kong,  arriving  there  at  six  p.m.  of  December  twen- 
tieth. After  remaining  thi'ee  or  four  days,  I  was  ordered 
to  Whampoa  to  load  teas  for  New  York.  On  arrival 
there  I  took  my  wife  to  Canton,  where  we  had  comfortable 
quarters  at  the  house  of  Russell  &  Co.  I  had  to  go  to 
Whampoa  often,  but  my  wife  made  many  acquaintances 
and  the  time  passed  very  pleasantly  for  her.  As  we 
looked  for  an  increase  in  the  family  before  a  great  many 
weeks,  we  were  fortunate  in  securing  a  Miss  Hemenway, 
who  wished  to  return  home.  She  proved  herself  a 
valuable  nurse. 

We  left  W^hampoa  on  the  fifteenth  of  January,  1853, 
and  on  the  seventeenth  were  two  hundred  and  fifty-four 
miles  from  the  coast  of  China  and  on  the  twenty-fifth 
passed  through  the  Straits  of  Gasper,  with  fine  breeze. 
At  seven  p.m.  we  had  light  airs  from  southwest  and  at 
eleven  p.m.  made  the  North  Watches,  a  small  island  in 
the  Java  Sea.  It  is  some  two  miles  in  diameter  and 
rises  to  the  height  of  two  hundred  feet,  densely  wooded 
from  the  top  to  the  sea.  Around  it  is  a  white,  sandy  beach, 
and  in  the  bright  moonlight  it  was  a  splendid  sight  to 
look  at.  I  called  my  wife  and  the  passengers  to  see  it. 
We  passed  close  to  it  at  midnight  and  by  two  p.m.  it  was 
some  eight  miles  to  the  north  of  us.  I  tacked  ship  to  the 
west  northwest.  At  four  a.m.  I  was  looking  at  the  chart 
and  had  just  pricked  my  position  on  it  and  got  out  of  my 
chair  to  go  on  deck  to  tack  ship,  when  the  ship  struck  on 
Broussa's  shoal,  while  going  at  the  rate  of  eight  miles  an 
hour.  Immediately  we  laid  all  sails  aback,  started  the 
water  forward,  and  rolled  all  the  salt  provisions  from 


130 

forward  on  to  the  quarter  deck  and  ran  a  kedge  anchor 
out  astern.  The  wind  freshened  and  she  came  off  the 
reef,  but  we  had  to  let  go  the  hawser  and  kedge  anchor, 
which  we  lost.  On  sounding  the  pumps  we  found  the 
ship  leaking  seven  inches  an  hour;  we  could  also  see  that 
the  fore-foot  was  gone,  or  at  any  rate  it  looked  that  way. 
The  leak  increasing,  I  resolved  to  put  into  Batavia,  about 
ninety  miles  distant.  I  had  never  been  there,  but  I  had 
good  charts,  and  at  six  p.m.  I  had  nearly  reached  the  place 
to  anchor,  when  I  was  called  to  my  wife.  I  hurriedly 
called  to  the  mate  and  told  him  to  bring  the  ship  to  an 
anchor  at  once.  On  going  below  I  found  my  wife  about 
to  be  confined,  and  shortly  afterwards  my  first-bom  came 
into  the  world.  It  was  a  hard  time  for  me,  my  ship  being 
almost  in  a  sinking  condition,  but  thanks  to  our  splendid 
nurse,  I  was  able  to  go  on  shore  and  secure  coolies  to  come 
off  and  keep  the  pumps  going  all  night,  and  also  to  arrange 
for  discharging  the  cargo. 

The  next  duty  was  to  petition  the  Governor  to  be  al- 
lowed to  take  my  ship  to  the  Dutch  Navy  Yard  on  the 
Island  of  Onrust,  about  five  miles  from  Batavia,  the  only 
place  where  I  could  repair  her  to  make  her  safe  to  perform 
the  rest  of  the  voyage.  There  were  no  docks  to  take  her 
to,  so  we  were  obliged  to  heave  her  down.  Batavia  at 
that  time  was  all  Dutch,  and  no  foreigner  was  permitted 
to  do  business  there  until  after  swearing  allegiance  to  the 
Dutch  Government.  The  house  of  Peele,  Hubbell  &  Co. 
was  supposed  to  be  an  American  house,  but  Mr.  Cramerus, 
who  was  the  head,  was  a  bom  Dutchman,  though  he  acted 
as  American  Consul.  He  was  a  very  fine  man  and  did 
everything  to  help  me.  There  were  two  Americans  in 
the  house,  but  they  had  sworn  allegiance  to  the  Dutch 
Government    and    were    practically    Dutchmen.     There 


131 

were  some  English  merchants,  but  they  were  all  in  the 
same  boat,  naturalized  Dutchmen. 

At  the  end  of  a  week  I  had  to  remove  my  wife  on  shore, 
and  we  took  board  with  Mrs.  Baines,  who  kept  a  very  nice 
house  some  little  distance  from  the  city  proper,  where  we 
were  very  comfortable ;  the  rooms  were  very  large  and  airy 
and  we  did  not  feel  the  heat  at  any  time.  My  passengers 
were  boarded  at  the  hotel. 

After  discharging  the  cargo  and  ballast,  the  ship  was 
towed  over  to  Onrust,  to  the  Navy  Yard.  It  was  a  very 
difficult  job  to  heave  her  down  so  as  to  get  the  keel  out  of 
water,  but  on  getting  her  down  the  first  time,  a  piece 
of  coral  nearly  two  feet  in  diameter  fell  out  of  her  wood 
ends.  If  this  had  come  out  at  sea  the  ship  would  have 
gone  dowTi  in  less  than  an  hour.  Another  pro\ndential 
escape  for  me.  The  Dutch  Navy  officers  were  very  par- 
ticular, and  would  have  the  ship  righted  every  night, 
which  made  a  very  long  job  of  it,  as  it  took  three  or  four 
hours  in  the  morning  to  heave  her  do^m.  I  lived  in  Ba- 
tavia,  and  had  to  leave  at  daylight  to  take  the  land  breeze 
to  carry  me  to  Onrust  where  I  took  breakfast  on  shore, 
where  the  mates,  steward  and  men  were  living. 

About  a  month  after  we  arrived.  Captain  Darling  and 
his  wife  invited  us  to  spend  a  short  time  with  them  on 
their  sugar  plantation  at  Wanisippee,  forty  miles  from 
Batavia.  They  were  Boston  people  and  very  pleasant, 
and  as  work  had  progressed  on  the  ship  so  that  I  could 
leave,  and  my  wife  and  child  were  doing  well,  we  accepted, 
and  one  fine  morning  a  carriage,  or  stage,  appeared  at 
our  boarding  place  with  eight  horses  and  driver  and  two 
outriders,  all  Javanese.  The  horses  were  not  much  larger 
than  Shetland  ponies,  but  they  could  run.  Myself,  wife, 
nurse   and   baby  got  on  board,  the  driver  snapped   his 


132 

whip,  the  outriders  ran  on  each  side,  whipping  the  horses 
to  a  run,  and  away  we  went,  over  a  wide  macadamized 
road  as  smooth  as  a  floor,  with  tall  trees  on  each  side. 
It  was  exhilarating  with  the  fresh  morning  air  and  the 
rapid  run  of  the  horses.  The  outriders,  after  getting 
them  up  to  full  speed  jumped  up  beliind,  but  at  the  least 
stoppage,  jumped  off  and  whipped  them  again.  We  ran 
these  horses  for  eight  miles,  when  they  were  taken  out  and 
eight  fresh  ones,  all  ready  harnessed,  were  put  in,  and 
away  we  went  again.  It  took  five  relays  of  eight  horses 
to  carry  us  the  forty  miles  in  about  four  hours.  We  then 
left  the  stage  and  were  put  on  board  of  a  flat-boat  which 
carried  us  about  four  miles  up  to  the  landing  at  the  plan- 
tation, where  Captain  Darling  and  his  wife  met  us,  and 
escorted  us  to  their  home,  a  large,  roomy  house  with 
verandas  around  the  whole  building.  At  night  we  sat 
outside.  The  floor  had  holes  in  it,  and  the  natives  built 
fires  underneath  with  wood  of  some  peculiar  smell  and 
much  smoke,  to  keep  the  mosquitoes  off.  For  some 
time  we  were  uneasy  on  account  of  the  great  number 
of  lizards  on  the  roof  overhead,  which  very  often  dropped 
their  tails  off,  but  we  soon  got  used  to  that. 

While  we  were  there  the  natives  were  grinding  the  sugar 
cane,  and  we  had  a  good  view  of  sugar  making.  They 
can  do  nothing  with  the  molasses,  so  have  to  run  it  into 
the  river.  A  small  part  of  it  is  made  into  Arrack,  a  species 
of  rum,  but  the  greater  part  goes  to  waste,  as  it  costs  too 
much  for  transportation  to  ship  it. 

The  Darlings  lived  well,  and  almost  everything  was 
cooked  with  the  milk  of  the  green  cocoanut;  the  curries 
were  especially  delicious,  and  the  fruit  was  plentiful. 
There  were  bananas  of  all  sorts  of  flavors  (seventy  varieties 
in  Java),  but  the  mangosteen  is  the  finest  fruit  in  the  world. 


133 

Next  to  that  is  the  durian,  but  we  could  not  get  courage 
enough  to  eat  it  while  we  were  in  Java;  the  odor  of  it  is 
very  offensive;  you  can  smell  it  half  a  mile  off.  Having 
once  tasted  it,  you  do  not  smell  it. 

After  a  very  pleasant  visit  we  were  taken  back  to  our 
boarding  house  in  the  same  way  as  we  came.  The  ship, 
having  been  repaired,  was  towed  back  to  Bata\aa  to  reload 
and  then  nearly  the  whole  of  my  crew  were  taken  with 
Java  fever  which  is  similar  to  yellow  fever,  and  all  had  to 
be  sent  to  the  hospital.  Sometime  before  we  were  ready 
for  sea,  Mr.  Cramerus,  the  American  consul,  and  the 
two  Mr.  Reeds  very  privately  told  me  that  they  wished  me 
to  take  home  an  American  gentleman  who  was  confined 
in  prison  and  whom  the  Governor  and  liis  Council  intended 
to  hang. 

This  Mr.  Gibson  was  a  New  York  adventurer  who  had 
read  of  the  doings  of  Sir  James  Brooks,  who  had  gone  to 
Borneo  and  become  Rajah  of  Sarawak  and  was  supported 
by  the  English  Government ;  did  much  for  the  natives  and 
became  a  powerful  Rajah,  living  in  great  state  and  be- 
coming very  wealthy.  Gibson  bought  a  pilot  boat  in 
New  York  and  started  for  the  Java  Sea.  He  reached  a 
point  in  Sumatra,  and  though  it  was  under  the  Dutch 
Government  he  landed  and  had  an  interview  with  one  of 
the  Rajahs,  promising  him  the  support  of  the  whole  navy 
of  the  United  States  if  he  would  revolt  against  the  Dutch 
and  make  him  (Gibson)  Rajah  supreme.  But  the  Dutch 
heard  of  it  and  caught  the  mate  of  Gibson's  schooner  with 
a  letter  incriminating  Gibson  as  he  was  going  to  the  Rajah. 
Whereupon  the  schooner  was  seized  and  Captain  Gibson 
and  liis  mate  were  taken  to  Batavia  and  placed  in  prison 
for  treason  against  the  Dutch  Government.  According 
to  all  reports,  Gibson,  while  in  jail,  had  learned  the  Dutch 


134 

and  Javanese  languages,  had  been  tried  three  times,  plead 
his  own  cause,  and  had  been  acquitted  by  the  Dutch  courts, 
but  the  Governor  and  Council  were  satisfied  of  his  guilt 
and  were  determined  he  should  be  hanged.  I  went  to 
see  him  in  prison  and  took  quite  a  liking  to  him.  He  was 
a  very  able  man,  and  did  not  worry  at  all,  for  all  that 
his  life  was  in  danger.  There  was  no  American  man-of- 
war  anywhere  near  Java,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  that  if 
he  could  be  got  out  of  prison  I  would  take  him  on  board 
my  ship  and  save  him  if  I  could. 

Two  weeks  or  more  before  I  was  ready  for  sea,  the 
American  ship  Sumatra,  Captain  Silver,  put  into  Batavia 
in  distress.  The  Captain  called  a  survey  upon  her  and 
she  was  found  unseaworthy  and  it  was  recommended  by 
the  surveyors  to  sell  her.  She  had  a  good  crew,  all  well, 
and  I  shipped  them  to  go  to  New  York  with  me.  My  own 
men  were  dying  in  the  hospital  and  none  of  them  were 
likely  to  get  well  enough  to  be  taken  on  board.  As  soon 
as  we  were  ready,  arrangements  were  made  to  get  Gibson 
out  of  prison.  Two  Englishmen  who  kept  a  ship- 
chandler's  store  promised  to  have  him  at  the  end  of  the 
jetty  at  nine  p.m.  of  the  evening  of  the  twenty-fifth  of 
April,  the  night  I  was  going  to  sail.  I  had  my  wife  and 
all  our  traps  on  board,  and  we  had  been  just  three  months 
in  Batavia  when  everything  was  ready  for  a  start.  I  sent 
my  mate  with  the  ship's  boat  on  shore,  and  soon  she 
came  back  with  Gibson  on  board.  The  Dutch  frigate,  a 
guard  ship,  lay  a  very  short  distance  from  us,  and  we  had 
hardly  got  him  on  board  when  she  sent  a  boat  to  us.  We 
supposed  they  were  after  the  prisoner  and  we  hustled  him 
under  the  mate's  room  in  a  hurry.  But  it  was  only  a  few 
officers  who  had  come  to  say  good  bye  to  me,  for  I  had  seen 
the  Captain  often  on  shore  and  we  were  good  friends. 


135 

They  left  us  after  a  short  stay,  and  at  three  a.m.  we  got 
under  weigh  to  take  advantage  of  the  land  breeze  which 
was  a  fair  wind,  out  of  the  harbor.  As  soon  as  the  anchor 
was  aweigh  I  fired  a  salute  of  eleven  guns  to  the  Dutch 
frigate;  they  called  their  crew  and  returned  the  salute. 
Our  guns  were  then  run  in  and  we  paid  no  more  attention 
to  the  frigate  or  to  the  shore;  but  Mr.  Gibson,  on  reaching 
New  York,  wrote  a  book  in  wliich  he  stated  that  the 
sailors  stood  by  the  guns,  ready  to  fight  any  vessel  that 
should  attempt  to  recapture  him.  His  rescue  came  near 
costing  the  ship  dear.  On  discharging  the  cargo  to  have 
the  ship  repaired,  we  had  to  pay  duties,  which  were  to  be 
returned  when  it  was  taken  on  board  again.  This  duty 
the  Government  refused  to  refund,  as  the  ship  had  taken 
away  a  State  prisoner;  and  it  was  some  months  before 
the  owners  of  the  ship  recovered  it.  Besides,  I  was  also 
forbidden  to  ever  visit  the  Island  of  Java — the  ship  might 
go  to  Batavia,  but  not  under  my  command. 

Many  of  my  friends  wanted  me  to  register  my  son  as 
born  in  Batavia,  and  make  him  a  Dutclmian,  as  he  would 
have  great  privileges  when  he  grew  up;  but  I  told  them 
he  was  bom  under  the  American  flag,  and  was  and  always 
would  be,  an  American  citizen. 

We  had  a  tedious  time  beating  out  tlirough  Sunda 
Straits,  and  for  thirteen  days  had  light  winds  and  calms. 
On  the  fourth  of  May  we  exchanged  signals  with  the 
Samuel  Russell,  my  old  ship,  and  for  two  days  we  were  in 
company,  with  light  winds.  We  parted  with  one  another 
by  my  going  to  the  west  and  the  Russell  to  the  south. 
Quite  a  large  number  of  my  crew  were  down  with  the 
Java  fever,  but  I  lost  only  one  man,  Hamilton  Rea,  the 
sailmaker,  who  died  on  the  thirtieth  of  May.  I  was 
especially  sorry  to  lose  him  as  he  had  been  sailmaker  on 


136 

board  the  Horatio  when  I  made  my  first  voyage;  he  was 
a  regular  old  salt,  always  at  work,  and  he  took  as  much 
interest  in  the  ship  and  its  passage  as  any  one.  The  rest 
of  the  crew  gradually  were  restored  to  health,  and  when 
we  passed  Cape  of  Good  Hope  all  were  well.  We  had  a 
pleasant  passage  from  the  Cape  and  took  a  pilot  off  Barne- 
gat  the  twenty-fifth  of  July,  1853,  after  being  absent 
fourteen  months  and  two  days,  a  good,  long  wedding  tour. 

After  discharging  the  ship  I  went  with  my  wife  and 
Charley  to  South  Danvers,  where  we  were  joyfully  re- 
ceived by  my  wife's  mother  and  her  other  relations  and 
friends,  and  our  baby  boy  pronounced  the  finest  and 
handsomest  baby  ever  bom.  We  had  a  very  pleasant 
time,  but  my  good  ship  must  be  off  again,  and  after  a  little 
over  two  months  on  shore,  I  persuaded  my  wife  to  join 
me  in  another  voyage  around  the  world.  Also  I  had  the 
owners'  permission  to  take  her  mother  with  us. 

On  September  twenty-seventh  we  left  New  York  with 
a  full  cargo  and  a  few  passengers  for  San  Francisco. 
We  had  variable  winds  and  calms  and  were  thirty-two 
days  out  before  crossing  the  equator,  the  longest  passage 
I  had  ever  had ;  from  there  we  had  a  fair  passage,  passing 
through  the  straits  of  Le  Maire  at  midnight,  and  on  the 
sixtieth  day  out  passing  Cape  Horn.  We  saw  many  ice- 
bergs, some  of  them  very  beautiful  in  the  sunlight.  For 
fifteen  days  we  had  nothing  but  storm  with  snow  and  hail 
and  cold  weather.  My  wife  and  her  mother  stood  the 
discomfort  wonderfully  well;  but  we  were  glad  enough  to 
reach  San  Francisco  after  a  passage  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-one  days,  arriving  on  January  twenty-sixth,  1854, 

My  cousin,  C.  Adolphe  Low,  met  us  as  we  came  to  the 
wharf,  and  it  was  very  pleasant  to  see  many  friends;  it 
was  like  getting  home.     We  lived  on  board  ship  and  had 


137 

daily  visitors  and  some  one  to  dine  with  us.  The  cargo 
was  hurried  out  by  stevedore  Allen  and  in  eighteen  days 
we  were  ready  for  sea.  I  had  much  difficulty  in  securing 
a  crew ;  in  fact  I  could  not  get  a  crew  for  China,  so  I  had 
to  ship  them  by  the  run  to  Honolulu  and  trust  to  finding 
men  there  to  take  me  to  China. 

We  left  San  Francisco  on  February  thirteenth  and  took 
a  pilot  off  Honolulu  February  twenty-fourth,  ten  days 
from  San  Francisco,  a  very  short  passage,  averaging  over 
two  hundred  miles  a  day.  After  taking  the  pilot  we  went 
into  the  harbor  and  hauled  alongside  the  wharf.  Upon 
inquiry  I  found  it  was  impossible  to  get  a  crew  of  white 
men,  or  even  Kanakas,  or  Sandwich  Islanders,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Samuel  Russell.  They  wanted  very  high  wages 
and  I  had  to  enter  into  heavy  bonds  to  return  them  to  the 
Islands.  I  was  in  a  quandary,  when  fortunately  a  New 
Bedford  man  offered  to  load  the  ship  for  New  York  with 
whale  oil.  This  gave  the  ship  a  very  fair  freight,  and  he 
promised  to  secure  a  crew  for  me  from  among  the  whalers. 
I  concluded  to  take  his  offer. 

When  at  Honolulu  in  the  Samuel  Russell  I  had  invited 
King  Kamahameha  and  his  princes  to  dine  with  me,  so 
now  I  invited  them  again,  but  I  found  that  if  they  accepted, 
my  wife  and  her  mother  could  not  join  us  at  dinner,  which 
disappointed  them  very  much.  When  my  visitors  arrived 
at  the  ship  I  received  the  King  at  the  gangway,  and  he 
recognized  me  at  once  and  seemed  very  glad  to  see  me, 
although  it  was  three  years  since  I  had  met  him  before. 
We  had  a  good  dinner  and  the  King  and  his  suite  were  very 
much  pleased  with  the  entertainment  and  delighted  with 
the  ship,  which  he  pronounced  the  finest  one  that  ever 
came  into  Honolulu.  Before  they  left  I  introduced  them 
to  my  wife  and  her  mother,  and  Mrs.  Low  invited  the 


138 

Queen  and  her  ladies  to  dine  with  her  the  next  day.  The 
King  accepted  the  invitation  and  promised  her  that  they, 
would  come.  Of  course  I  was  shut  out,  and  I  gave  the 
ship  up  to  the  ladies.  I  forget  how  many  made  their 
appearance,  but  they  also  enjoyed  their  visit.  Before 
the  dinner  was  over,  the  King  and  two  or  three  of  his 
ministers  came  on  board  and  had  liquid  refreshments 
served  on  the  quarter  deck. 

After  this  was  over  I  had  to  go  to  Lahaina,  some  dis- 
tance from  Honolulu,  where  a  great  many  whale  ships 
anchored  in  preference  to  Honolulu.  Father  Damon, 
seaman's  chaplain  and  missionary,  invited  my  wife  and 
mother  to  pay  a  visit  on  shore  during  my  absence.  They 
accepted,  and  after  seeing  them  settled,  I  took  passage  in 
a  small  trading  schooner  for  Lahaina.  I  found  on  arrival 
there  a  number  of  ships  and  I  secured  quite  a  large  quan- 
tity of  oil.  Captain  Dubois  got  under  weigh  in  his 
barque  as  soon  as  I  was  ready,  and  took  me  on  board  to 
go  back  to  Honolulu.  On  the  way  up  he  gave  me  a  thrill- 
ing account  of  having  been  attacked  by  a  whale  in  the 
South  Pacific  and  his  ship  sunk  by  it,  so  that  he  and  his 
crew  had  a  narrow  escape.  They  took  to  their  boats  and 
were  picked  up  by  Captain  Edwards  of  the  ship  Washing- 
ton of  New  Bedford.  It  is  so  long  ago  now  that  I  have 
forgotten  the  details. 

We  were  nearly  two  months  completing  our  cargo  and 
on  the  twenty-second  of  April  we  were  ready  for  sea.  We 
had  a  cabinful  of  passengers.  Mr.  Marshall  and  wife, 
Mr.  Everett  and  wife,  Mrs.  Angel  and  son  (wife  of  the 
U.  S.  Consul),  Mr.  Saunders,  who  was  nearly  dead  of 
consumption  and  anxious  to  get  home  and  see  his  mother 
before  he  died.  Captain  Snow,  an  old  whaler,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Whittlesy,  missionaries,  also  my  wife  and  her  mother 


139 

and  my  son  Charles,  and  some  others  whom  I  have  for- 
gotten, but  they  were  all  first  class  and  full  of  fun. 

We  left  Honolulu  with  moderate  breezes  on  April  twenty- 
third,  had  good  winds,  and  crossed  the  line  in  six  days; 
passed  Cape  Horn  in  thirty-eight  days  with  skysails  and 
royal  studding-sails  set.  In  fifty-seven  days  we  crossed 
the  line  in  the  Atlantic,  a  splendid  passage.  We  were 
ten  days  ahead  of  the  famous  voyage  of  the  Sovereign 
of  the  Seas,  but  we  had  a  long  passage  of  twenty-five  days 
from  the  line,  being  becalmed  for  many  days. 

Mr.  Saunders'  will  had  kept  him  alive  so  far,  as  we 
hoped  to  reach  his  home,  but  on  the  Fourth  of  July  he 
enquired  of  his  servant  if  there  was  any  wind.  The  man 
told  him,  "  No,  and  no  sign  of  any,"  and  he  turned  over 
and  died.  We  had  made  preparations  to  celebrate  the  day, 
but  we  gave  them  up.  The  voyage  up  to  this  time  was 
the  most  pleasant  of  any  I  had  ever  made;  the  passengers 
had  some  amusement  every  day  or  evening,  and  getting 
along  so  fast  put  every  one  in  good  humor. 

After  we  took  a  pilot,  just  as  we  were  going  by  Sandy 
Hook,  my  second  son  was  bom,  on  the  fourteenth  day  of 
July,  1854.  It  was  exciting  and  rather  unfortunate  to 
have  it  occur  so  near  New  York,  but  evervthing  went  all 
right.  At  quarantine  the  Doctor  came  on  board  and 
pronounced  my  wife  doing  well.  It  was  nearly  seven  p.m 
when  we  hauled  alongside  the  wharf,  and  we  had  to  remain 
on  board  all  night.  The  next  day  we  removed  my  wife 
to  the  home  of  my  parents,  40  Concord  Street,  Brooklyn. 
I  left  the  ship  and  gave  Mr.  Frisbee  command,  as  I  in- 
tended staying  at  home  for  some  time. 

After  my  wife  was  able  to  travel,  we  went  to  South 
Dan  vers,  where  I  purchased  a  large  house  on  the  comer 
of  Foster  and  Washington  streets.     It  had  been  built  by 


140 

a  Colonel  Lowe.  It  was  beautifully  situated  on  a  knoll, 
some  fifteen  feet  above  the  street  and  a  block  below 
where  George  Peabody  was  bom.  We  had  a  pleasant 
time  setting  out  trees  and  plants  and  beautifying  the 
grounds. 

In  the  middle  of  August,  1855,  I  was  called  to  take 
charge  again  of  the  N.  B.  Palmer,  then  loading  for  China, 
and  on  the  twenty-eighth  I  bade  farewell  to  home  and 
proceeded  to  sea.  For  five  days  we  had  a  good  run  and  I 
anticipated  a  short  run  to  the  equator,  but  afterwards  we 
had  light  winds  and  calms  and  did  not  cross  the  line  till 
the  thirty-first  day  out.  We  passed  the  longitude  of  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  in  40°  south,  fifty-seven  days  from  New 
York.  From  there  we  had  varymg  winds  to  Sandalwood 
Island,  then  light  airs  and  calms  for  twenty  days,  and  we 
took  a  pilot  on  the  twenty -fourth  of  December,  one  hundred 
and  eighteen  days  to  Hong  Kong,  the  longest  passage  I  ever 
made.  The  twelfth  of  January,  1856  we  proceeded  to 
Shanghai  and  made  a  good  passage  against  the  monsoon 
in  eleven  days,  heavily  laden  with  rice.  After  a  stay  of 
six  weeks  we  were  loaded  with  tea  and  silks  and  on  March 
the  twelfth  got  under  weigh  and  proceeded  down  the  river. 
We  had  very  light  winds  and  were  twenty-five  days  getting 
to  Anjer  and  sixty  days  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  We 
stopped  at  St.  Helena  for  flour  and  provisions,  and  ar- 
rived in  New  York  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  June,  1856,  in 
one  hundred  and  eight  days  from  Shanghai. 

As  my  wife  had  been  on  shore  for  some  time  and  our 
two  boys  were  old  enough  to  leave  with  their  grandmother, 
my  wife  consented  to  go  to  sea  with  me  again,  and  on  the 
fourth  of  August,  1856,  we  sailed  in  the  N .  B.  Palmer  for 
China.  We  had  a  few  pleasant  passengers,  one  a  Mrs. 
Hunter  whose  husband  was  partner  in  Russell   &  Co.  at 


141 

Canton.  She  was  a  Southern  lady  and  most  agreeable, 
and  my  wife  enjoyed  her  bemg  on  board,  and  the  voyage, 
which  was  made  tedious  by  light  winds,  was  much  short- 
ened by  her  company.  We  were  tliirty-five  days  to  the 
equator  and  had  light  winds  to  30°  south  latitude,  where 
we  had  a  fine  run  past  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  an- 
other fine  run  from  6°  east  in  latitude  40°  south  to  7° 
south  latitude  and  103°  east,  averaging  three  hundred  and 
thirty-five  miles  a  day  for  four  days,  and  two  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  miles  a  day  for  twelve  days.  It  is  very  seldom 
that  one  can  get  the  wind  to  make  such  a  run  and  we  made 
a  fair  passage  to  Anjer,  being  eighty  days  from  New  York. 
We  took  the  passage  through  the  Java  Sea  and  through 
the  Celebes  Sea  into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Two  days  after 
passing  Cape  Donda,  a  long  way  from  land,  we  picked  up 
a  canoe  with  a  Malay  in  it  who  was  nearly  starved.  I 
took  him  on  board  and  carried  him  to  Honfj  Kontr.  I 
could  not  find  out  anything  about  liim  for  he  could  not 
speak  any  language  that  I  was  acquainted  with. 

Light  ^-inds  continued  till  we  took  the  northeast  mon- 
soon in  latitude  76°  north,  longitude  126°  50"  east.  In 
three  days  we  passed  Pedro  Blanco  and  anchored  in 
Hong  Kong  at  six  a.m.,  one  hundred  and  eighteen  days 
from  New  York.  We  lay  at  anchor  from  November 
thirtieth,  1856,  till  February  nineteenth,  1857,  when  we 
started  for  Siam  for  a  load  of  rice.  There  being  a  famine 
in  China,  every  available  ship  was  sent  to  difi'erent  places 
for  rice.  After  a  passage  of  twelve  days  we  came  to  anchor 
off  the  bar  at  Siam,  about  four  miles  from  land.  I  had 
my  long  boat  rigged  as  a  yawl  with  two  leg  sails,  and 
proceeded  up  the  river  Men  am  forty  miles  from  the 
anchorage,  to  Bangkok,  the  capital,  where  I  found  a  Mr. 
Parker  to  whom  I  consigned  the  ship.     Here  I  met  Mr. 


142 

and  Mrs.  Telford  and  they  invited  me  to  bring  my  wife 
up  and  stay  with  them  till  the  ship  was  loaded.  I  accepted 
their  invitation  and  then  returned  to  the  ship,  enjoying 
much  the  very  pleasant  sail.  I  went  to  Bangkok  again 
the  next  day  with  my  wife,  taking  the  second  mate 
and  some  sailors  to  pull  the  boat  iri  case  the  wind 
gave  out,  but  there  was  a  breeze  and  we  made  good 
time,  and  after  giving  the  men  a  good  feed,  we  sent  them 
back  to  the  ship.  I  expected  to  be  three  or  four  weeks 
in  loading. 

Bangkok  is  full  of  temples  filled  with  idols  of  every 
size.  One  reclines  on  its  back;  is  some  fifty  feet  long 
and  fifty  feet  high  and  all  covered  with  gold;  another 
immense  one  is  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  some  temples 
contain  one  or  two  hundred  idols  around  the  room.  The 
river  on  both  sides  of  Bangkok  is  lined  with  houses  built 
on  large  rafts  of  bamboo,  anchored  there.  When  a  family 
gets  tired  of  one  place  they  up  anchor  and  float  down  or  up 
the  river  to  a  new  place.  Thunder  storms  occur  here 
almost  every  night  with  vivid  lightning,  heavy  thunder 
and  torrents  of  rain.  The  days  are  very  pleasant,  but  not 
hot.  My  wife  had  an  invitation  to  attend  a  pleasant  party 
given  by  the  Queen  on  her  birthday,  to  which  all  the 
missionary  ladies  went.  At  the  close  of  the  dinner  the 
Queen  presented  each  lady  with  a  silver  coin  called  a 
tical,  value  about  fifty  cents.  The  first  King,  for  there 
were  two,  did  not  speak  English,  and  he  kept  aloof  from 
foreigners,  but  the  second  King  was  an  educated  man 
and  was  very  fond  of  astronomy  and  navigation,  and  was 
very  progressive.  He  was  also  a  great  beggar  and  wanted 
everything  he  saw  that  pleased  him.  He  visited  my  ship 
and  was  much  pleased  with  her.  I  was  glad  I  was  not 
on  board  at  the  time,  for  the  mate  had  hard  work  to 


143 

convince  him  that  two  very  handsome  nine-pounder  guns 
were  ship's  property  and  not  to  be  given  away.  He 
afterwards  tried  very  hard  to  get  them  from  me. 

Once  in  a  while,  my  wife  accompanied  me  down  to  the 
ship  when  my  boat  came  up  for  orders,  and  one  time  we 
had  a  rather  disagreeable  trip,  for  in  going  back  to  the 
city  we  took  passage  in  a  small  schooner  called  the  Red 
Wing.  She  was  not  much  larger  than  my  long  boat 
and  carried  rice  and  sapan-wood  to  the  ship.  We  started 
off  very  well,  but  on  the  bar  the  schooner  struck,  and 
there  we  were  and  had  to  stay  till  the  tide  rose.  It  was 
very  hot  and  we  retreated  to  the  hold  to  keep  cool.  We 
were  too  far  from  the  ship  for  any  one  there  to  see  and 
help  us  and  the  hold  was  not  a  pleasant  place  to  stay  in, 
as  there  were  any  quantity  of  centipedes  and  scorpions 
which  came  out  of  the  sapan-wood.  We  were  soon  de- 
livered though,  by  the  tide's  rising  and  we  went  on  our 
way  rejoicing  and  arrived  safely  at  Bangkok. 

It  was  here  that  my  wife  and  I  learned  to  love  the  durian. 
We  were  in  Java  three  months,  the  home  of  this  delicious 
fruit,  but  we  could  not  then  be  persuaded  to  touch  it, 
for  the  smell  of  it  is  very  offensive.  But  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Telford  insisted  that  if  we  once  tasted  of  it  we  should  not 
notice  the  smell  again,  and  we  did  taste  and  were  sorry 
we  had  lost  so  many  opportunities  of  enjoying  it.  It  is 
a  larsre  fruit  with  a  husk  one-half  to  one  inch  thick;  in- 
side  there  are  some  dozen  seeds  the  size  of  a  dollar,  and 
a  thick  coating  around  them  of  a  substance  like  a  custard 
which  is  eaten  with  a  spoon.  I  cannot  describe  it,  but  it 
tastes  like  everything  that  is  good  mixed  together.  They 
told  us  in  Java  that  it  was  very  heating,  and  the  natives, 
when  they  eat  of  it,  sit  with  their  feet  in  the  water,  but  we 
were  never  troubled  by  it.     The  mangosteen  is  another 


144 

most  delicious  fruit  and  common  in  Java  and  Siam.     I 
cannot  describe  that  either. 

The  King  had  a  very  large  number  of  elephants,  among 
them  two  white  elephants  which  were  held  sacred.  You 
could  not,  however,  properly  call  them  white  for  they 
were  more  of  a  dirty  cream  color.  The  keepers  took  the 
whole  lot  of  them  down  to  the  river  every  morning  to  bathe, 
and  it  was  very  amusing  to  see  their  evident  enjoyment 
of  it. 

There  are  large  dealings  here  in  teak-wood  which  is 
very  rare,  and  I  bought  quite  a  quantity  for  a  deck  load. 
Sapan-wood  also  we  purchased  for  dunnage,  lining  the 
ship  inside  with  it  to  keep  the  rice  from  the  ship's  side. 
We  loaded  as  rapidly  as  was  possible  with  the  ship  so  far 
away  (for  everything  had  to  be  transported  in  lighters), 
but  on  the  thirtieth  of  March  we  had  twenty-one  thousand 
pecals  of  rice  on  board  which  gave  us  about  fourteen 
hundred  tons,  besides  teak-wood  and  sapan-wood,  which 
put  us  down  very  deep  in  the  water. 

We  bade  good-bye  to  our  hosts  as  well  as  to  all  the 
missionaries,  and  started  down  the  river,  and  at  nine  a.m., 
March  thirty-first  we  got  under  weigh  for  Hong  Kong. 
We  had  light  winds  all  the  way  and  were  twenty-one  days 
to  Hong  Kong,  averaging  only  eighty  miles  a  day.  Here 
we  discharged  our  cargo  and  on  the  fourteenth  of  May 
set  sail  on  our  second  voyage  to  Siam.  As  the  ship  was 
making  money  for  the  owners  and  the  voyage  was  pleasant, 
my  wife  and  I  were  well  contented.  The  winds  were  very 
light  and  a  long  passage  of  eighteen  days  was  the  result. 
We  anchored  off  the  Menambar  on  the  first  of  June,  1857. 
The  Portsmouth,  American  man-of-war,  was  anchored 
near  us.  She  was  commanded  by  Captain  Foote,  who 
distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of  the  Barrier  Forts 


145 

near  Canton,  and  afterwards  in  our  civil  war  in  many 
fights  on  the  Mississippi  River  and  at  New  Orleans. 
We  niade  his  acquaintance  in  China  and  liked  liim  very 
much. 

As  soon  as  the  ship  was  anchored  I  left  for  Bangkok  to 
report,  and  meeting  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Telford  received  another 
kind  invitation  to  stay  with  them  during  the  ship's  load- 
ing. I  accepted  for  myself  and  wife  and  later  we  started 
in  the  long  boat  for  the  city.  We  were  becalmed  in  the 
river  and  were  making  slow  progress,  when  a  steamer 
flying  the  Siamese  flag  hove  in  sight,  bound  up.  It  came 
close  to  us  and  stopped,  and  Captain  Foote  hailed  me  and 
asked  us  to  come  on  board.  The  King  and  second  King 
were  on  board  and  the  boat  belonged  to  the  Kings,  a  very 
pretty  vessel  called  The  Royal  Seat  of  the  Siamese  Forces, 
a  pretty  long  name.  The  Kings  had  been  the  guests  of 
Captain  Foote  on  board  the  Portsmouth.  We  were  glad 
to  go  on  board  and  to  be  very  graciously  received  by  their 
Majesties.  We  were  soon  landed  in  Bangkok  and  settled 
in  the  old  missionary  home.  We  were  fortunate  to  have 
such  a  good  home,  for  it  was  very  tedious  work  getting  a 
cargo,  and  we  lay  there  two  months  before  we  were  loaded. 
We  took  in  the  usual  load  of  sapan-wood  for  dunnage  and 
teak-wood  for  a  deck  load,  and  some  fourteen  hundred 
tons  of  rice.  About  two  weeks  before  we  were  ready  for 
sea  I  was  taken  sick  with  dysentery  of  the  worst  kind,  and 
in  a  week  I  was  reduced  from  one  hundred  and  eighty 
pounds  to  one  hundred  and  twenty.  I  recovered  some- 
what and  was  able  to  take  charge  of  my  ship,  leaving  Siam 
on  the  thirtieth  of  July  and  arriving  in  Hong  Kong  the 
tenth  of  August,  where  I  had  a  relapse  and  was  danger- 
ously sick,  so  sick  indeed  that  the  doctor  in  Hong  Kong 
did  not  expect  me  to  live  and  sent  me  over  to  Macao, 


146 

forty  miles  to  the  westward.  There  Dr.  Caine,  an  EngHsh 
doctor,  attended  me  and  he  I  think  never  expected  me  to 
get  well.  All  this  time  my  wife  attended  me  night  and 
day,  and  I  am  sure  that  by  her  constant  care  and  good 
nursing  my  life  was  saved;  the  Doctor  said  as   much. 

All  at  once  the  crisis  was  passed  and  I  progressed 
wonderfully  towards  health  and  strength.  I  was  in  the 
summer  house  of  Russell  &  Co.,  a  fine  building,  with 
plenty  of  room,  and  there  I  had  every  attention  that  could 
possibly  be  given  to  me.  Captain  Steele  of  the  Contest 
was  there  and  many  others  who  were  very  kind  to  me. 
As  soon  as  I  received  strength  to  move  about  we  had  a 
very  pleasant  time.  Macao  is  a  Portuguese  city  and 
beautifully  situated  on  the  Bay;  it  has  an  inside  harbor 
that  is  well  protected  from  all  winds,  but  large  vessels 
cannot  enter  it.  Before  Hong  Kong  became  an  English 
port  all  ships  stopped  at  Macao  and  waited  for  orders  be- 
fore going  up  the  river  to  Canton,  We  stayed  in  Macao 
till  I  was  quite  well,  and  as  we  were  not  to  leave  for  home 
for  two  months  I  was  better  off  away  from  the  ship. 

But  the  time  soon  passed  and  I  joined  the  ship,  and  on 
the  fifth  of  October  we  left  for  home,  and  glad  enough  we 
were.  I  was  not  very  strong,  though  able  to  take  care 
of  the  ship,  but  the  voyage  down  the  China  Sea  was  very 
trying,  with  light  airs  and  baffling  winds,  so  that  we  were 
thirty  days  going  to  Anjer.  When  we  left  there  I  had  lost 
some  of  the  flesh  and  strength  which  I  had  gained,  and 
was  very  poorly.  However,  with  the  fresh  ocean  winds 
and  bracing  weather  I  soon  gained,  and  I  continued  to 
gain  all  the  way  home. 

The  passage  was  pleasant,  with  nothing  occurring  to 
remember,  except  that  it  was  a  short  one  of  seventy  days 
from  Anjer  to  New  York.     We  took  a  pilot  at  four  a.m. 


147 

of  the  thirteenth  of  January,  1858,  and  at  seven  p.m. 
anchored  inside  the  bar.  At  dayhght  we  took  a  steam  tug 
for  New  York,  after  an  absence  of  seventeen  months  and 
seventeen  days.  My  friends  thought  I  looked  hke  a  very 
sick  man  and  ad\ased  me  to  stay  at  home  for  a  year  and 
recruit.  I  found  that  my  weight  was  thirty  pounds  less 
than  my  average  weight  of  one  hundred  and  eighty,  so 
my  brothers  gave  the  command  to  Mr.  Hyam,  the  mate, 
a  very  able  man,  who  had  been  my  chief  officer  for  two 
years,  and  I  went  to  South  Danvers  to  my  home  there, 
where  I  found  all  well.  Our  two  sons,  Charley  and  Josiah 
had  been  well  cared  for  by  their  grandmother  and  had 
grown  to  be  good-sized  boys.  I  gained  strength  daily, 
but  not  much  flesh. 

On  the  ninth  of  INIarch  my  wife  was  delivered  of  twins, 
a  boy  and  a  girl.  There  was  a  terrible  snow  storm  and 
I  had  to  foot  it  a  mile  through  two  feet  of  snow  to  get  the 
Doctor.  We  named  them  Francis  and  Frances,  and  they 
were  fine  children.  In  July  we  started  with  the  whole 
family  for  Claremont,  New  Hampshire,  and  took  board 
in  the  town.  It  was  very  lovely  there  but  the  food  could 
have  been  better  (and  it  might  have  been  worse).  I  had 
an  unquenchable  thirst  for  milk.  I  dare  not  say  how 
much  I  drank  in  the  twenty-four  hours,  but  it  was  certainly 
from  one  to  two  gallons  if  not  more.  At  any  rate  I  gained 
in  flesh  and  strength  rapidly;  so  did  Mrs.  Low  and  the 
children,  and  after  a  month  or  two  we  returned  to  our 
home  in  South  Danvers  where  we  remained  the  rest  of 
the  year  until  I  began  to  want  to  go  to  sea  again.  Of 
course  I  had  got  to  go  alone  for  my  wife  could  not  go 
and  leave  the  children. 

A.  A.  Low  &  Bros,  wrote  me  in  January  that  the  Jacob 
Bell  was  nearly  ready  for  sea  and  that  I  could  take  com- 


148 

mand  of  her.  She  was  a  fine  ship,  of  the  same  size  as  the 
N.  B.  Palmer,  but  she  did  not  have  as  fine  accommoda- 
tions. Instead  of  there  being  a  house  on  deck,  half  of  it 
was  below  the  poop  deck  and  half  above  it.  The  state- 
rooms were  very  comfortable  and  my  room  was  in  the 
after  part,  with  a  gangway  which  opened  out  close  to 
the  man  at  the  wheel  and  also  opened  out  on  the  main 
deck.  The  quarter-deck  was,  of  course,  small,  about 
three  feet  wide  on  each  side  of  the  house,  and  some  twelve 
feet  abaft.  The  top  of  the  cabin  gave  good  room  to 
walk  on,  and  altogether  it  was  very  comfortable.  I  had 
a  New  Bedford  man  as  mate  and  Joseph  Steele  as  second 
mate.  The  mate  proved  perfectly  worthless  on  a  merchant 
ship,  though  he  may  have  been  a  good  whaler,  for  as  such 
he  had  been  brought  up.  I  discharged  him  in  Hong  Kong 
as  soon  as  I  arrived  and  promoted  Mr.  Steele. 

On  leaving  New  York  we  had  fresh  gales  from  south 
and  southwest  and  unfavorable  winds  till  we  crossed  the 
latitude  of  30°  north.  We  crossed  the  Hne  in  twenty- 
seven  days  from  New  York.  On  the  twenty-second  day 
of  February  we  fired  a  salute  in  memory  of  Washington's 
birthday.  A  seaman,  William  Dexter,  was  badly  injured 
by  the  guns  going  off  while  he  was  ramming  home  a  cart- 
ridge. I  sewed  the  thumb  together,  which  was  nearly  off 
the  hand,  and  he  recovered  the  use  of  it  before  the  end  of 
the  voyage,  a  tribute  to  my  skill  as  a  surgeon.  Nothmg 
occurred  to  make  the  vovage  of  interest.  We  arrived  at 
Anjer  in  eighty-three  days  from  New  York  and  from 
there  to  Hong  Kong  had  a  most  tedious  time,  nothing  but 
light  winds  and  calms,  and  we  were  thirty-one  days  from 
Anjer,  making  the  voyage  one  hundred  and  fourteen  days. 
We  lay  in  Hong  Kong  from  May  thirteenth  to  June  eighth, 
when  we  set   sail   for  Foochow.     We  were   three    days 


149 

to  the  White  Dogs  off  the  River  Min,  and  it  took  us  seven 
days  to  reach  Pagoda  Anchorage,  our  destination.  Foo- 
chow  is  some  distance  from  the  anchorage  (some  fourteen 
miles),  about  the  same  as  from  Whampoa  to  Canton, 
and  the  teas  are  brought  down  to  the  sliip  in  the  same  way, 
by  chop-boats  carrying  from  eight  hundred  to  one  thou- 
sand chests  of  tea. 

There  were  a  number  of  American  ships  in  the  river 
when  we  arrived,  and  as  I  was  the  oldest  Captain  in  the 
China  trade  I  was  made  Commodore  of  the  Fleet.  The 
Commodore's  duty  was  to  fire  a  gun  at  eight  a.m.  and  at 
sundown,  at  the  same  time  hoisting  the  ensign  at  the  peak 
and  the  house  flag  at  the  main.  All  other  American  ships 
had  to  follow  the  Commodore's  example.  It  was  his 
duty  also,  when  an  American  ship  made  its  appearance 
down  the  river,  to  signal  the  fleet  to  send  a  boat's  crew 
on  board  to  help  moor  ship  and  furl  her  sails  when  she 
came  near.  The  same  was  done  when  one  of  the  number 
got  under  weigh  to  leave  port.  It  was  a  very  good  scheme 
and  made  easy  work  for  the  crew  coming  in  or  going  out. 
We  had  some  sport  annopng  the  Captain  of  an  English 
brig-of-war  which  lay  very  near  to  us.  Of  course  when  a 
man-of-war  was  in  port  she  acted  as  Commodore  for  the 
ships  under  her  flag,  and  my  mate  took  great  pleasure  in 
watching  when  this  ship  would  fire  the  eight  o'clock  gun 
and  in  firing  his  almost  at  the  same  second.  The  English 
Captain  did  not  Uke  it  at  all,  but  he  was  a  pompous,  uncivil 
chap  whom  no  one  Uked,  and  we  were  glad  we  got  the 
better  of  him.  One  night  a  typhoon  threatened,  and  at 
one  A.M.  we  called  all  hands  and  sent  down  skysail,  royal 
and  topgallant  yards  and  housed  the  topgallant  masts. 
At  daylight  it  was  blowing  heavily  and  my  ship  was  lying 
comfortably,  all  snug.     The  man-of-war  started   in  and 


150 

made  all  things  snug  in  a  short  time,  but  the  Captain 
never  could  get  over  wondering  how  the  Yankee  captain 
had  done  such  a  job  in  the  darkness  of  night. 

We  lay  at  the  Pagoda  Anchorage  two  months  and  eight 
days,  and  even  after  all  that  time  we  were  unable  to  get  a 
fuU  cargo  for  New  York,  and  much  to  my  disappointment, 
we  were  ordered  to  sail  for  Whampoa  to  finish  our  cargo 
for  home.  This  being  the  height  of  the  typhoon  season 
I  did  not  like  cruising  in  Chinese  waters,  but  there  was  no 
getting  out  of  it. 

Upon  leaving,  a  young  man  named  Stephen  Massett 
wished  me  to  take  him  to  New  York  as  a  passenger. 
He  was  poor  and  could  only  pay  liis  passage  by  giving  me 
an  upright  piano,  which  I  took  in  the  after  cabin.  He  was 
the  son  of  Stephen  Massett,  an  actor  and  humorist  of  some 
note  and  he  inherited  his  father's  musical  and  humorous 
ability  and  we  had  many  a  pleasant  time  on  the  voyage 
home.  We  left  our  anchorage  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
August,  1859,  and  on  the  third  day  out  we  were  running 
into  a  typhoon.  A  fresh  gale  was  increasing,  with  the 
barometer  falling.  I  sent  the  royal  yards  on  deck  and 
close-reefed  the  topsails,  furled  mainsail,  jib  and  foresail, 
and  ran  away  from  the  centre  of  the  typhoon  by  steering 
according  to  the  law  of  storms.  I  then  hove  to  and  let 
the  storm  pass  us  to  the  northward. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  August  we  took  a  pilot  and  at  three 
P.M.  anchored  in  Hong  Kong,  seven  days  from  Foochow. 
We  at  once  proceeded  to  Whampoa  to  finish  our  lading, 
but  instead  of  being  able  to  do  so  immediately,  we  had  to 
wait  six  weeks  before  we  finished  loading,  and  it  was  on 
the  thirteenth  of  October  when  we  passed  the  Great 
Ladrone  Islands  bound  home.  It  was  early  for  the 
northeast  monsoon,  so  we  had  light  and  baflSing  winds 


151 

down  the  China  Sea  and  were  twenty-seven  days  to  Anjer. 
We  had  a  fair  run  to  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  passing  it  fifteen 
miles  to  the  south,  in  sixty-six  days  from  China.  We  had 
the  usual  run  to  New  York  and  took  a  pilot  one  hundred 
and  t^'o  days  from  Macao.  This  concluded  my  twenty- 
second  voyage  and  sixteenth  voyage  as  Captain. 

I  found  the  family  all  well  and  my  oldest  boys  well 
grown,  and  my  old  ship  the  A''.  B.  Palmer  loading  for 
China,  so  I  shifted  from  the  Jacob  Bell  and  took  command 
of  the  N.  B.  Palmer,  and  after  a  short  stay  at  my  home 
in  South  Danvers,  made  arrangements  to  take  my  wife  and 
my  sons  Charles  and  Josiah  with  me.  My  cousin.  Miss 
Ellen  Porter,  was  also  to  go  with  us,  making  quite  a 
family  party.  We  left  Frank  and  Fannie  with  Mrs. 
Tucker,  and  on  February  fifth,  a  little  over  a  month  from 
the  time  I  arrived  home,  I  was  again  at  sea,  bound  to 
China. 

There  was  very  little  worth  remembering  of  this  voyage 
out.  Light  winds  prevailed  and  we  were  twenty-four  days 
to  the  equator,  and  were  directly  on  the  line  at  noon  the 
twenty-fourth  day.  We  had  the  usual  heavy  seas  and 
strong  winds  running  down  the  easting  in  the  Indian 
Ocean,  and  made  a  fair  passage  of  eighty-two  days  to 
Anjer.  We  lay  there  all  night  and  next  day,  taking  in 
water  and  fresh  provisions,  turtles,  chickens  and  yams, 
and  enjoyed  a  short  time  on  shore.  We  had  light  winds 
all  the  way  up  the  China  Sea,  and  on  the  fourth  of  June, 
just  one  hundred  days  from  New  York,  we  anchored 
in  Hong  Kong.  We  had  been  there  fifteen  days  when  I 
was  ordered  to  Shanghai.  W^e  made  the  passage  in  eight 
days,  coming  to  anchor  on  the  second  of  July  in  that  port. 
As  there  was  no  cargo  to  be  had  there  we  loaded  up  with 
bean  cake  for  Amoy, 


152 

Before  leaving  New  York  I  swapped  the  upright  piano 
I  received  from  Massett  for  a  splendid  square  one  made 
by  Stohls,  which  he  let  me  have  for  three  hundred  dollars 
and  the  upright.  It  was  one  of  his  best,  worth  seven 
hundred  dollars.  He  wished  me  to  take  it  to  China  as 
an  advertisement.  My  wife  enjoyed  it  exceedingly,  and 
it  was  a  great  source  of  pleasure  when  we  had  company 
at  the  different  places  we  visited,  and  also  at  sea.  I  did 
not,  however,  have  the  pleasure  of  selling  any  pianos  for 
the  maker. 

We  had  a  short  run  of  three  days  and  anchored  in  Amoy 
on  August  first,  1860,  and  were  consigned  to  Tait  &  Co. 
Mr.  Tait,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm,  was  a  rough  old 
Scotchman  and  rather  eccentric,  but  a  jolly  fellow  and  we 
saw  a  good  deal  of  him  on  shore  and  on  board  the  ship. 
There  were  quite  a  number  of  young  men  in  Amoy,  and 
my  cousin  had  numerous  visitors,  for  young  ladies  were 
scarce  in  that  community. 

One  day  we  were  invited  to  dine  at  Tait  &  Co.'s.  It  is 
needless  to  add  that  we  had  a  fine  dinner,  for  the  foreign 
merchants  in  all  of  China  lived  like  princes,  and  there  is 
no  country  where  the  variety  of  foods  is  greater  or  better 
than  in  China.  One  course  Mr.  Tait  pronounced  chicken- 
pie.  My  wife  and  cousin  thought  it  excellent,  but  after 
dinner  was  over  we  found  it  was  made  of  frog's  legs. 
Neither  of  us  had  ever  tasted  them  before,  but  afterwards 
we  had  them  often  on  board  ship. 

The  harbor  of  Amoy  was  a  very  safe  one,  land  locked, 
and  more  like  a  river,  for  on  one  side  was  the  main  land, 
and  some  two  miles  opposite  was  an  island  running  parallel, 
named  Kulang-seu.  The  American  Consul  and  some 
missionaries  lived  there,  but  the  merchants  were  on  the 
main  land.     Some  three  or  four  miles  towards  the  sea 


153 

there  was  a  fine,  hard,  sandy  beach  where  the  foreigners 
went  to  ride  on  the  Amoy  ponies  in  the  afternoons.  Cap- 
tain Wood,  captain  of  a  ship  near  us,  invited  us  one  day 
to  go  down  there  and  have  a  ride.  We  went  in  our  Sam- 
pan and  took  my  steward  with  a  lunch  while  Captain 
Wood  found  the  horses  and  had  them  sent  down  there. 
Although  I  had  never  ridden  horseback  I  got  along  very 
well  and  rather  enjoyed  it.  We  went  several  times,  but 
one  day  I  could  get  no  pony,  so  I  called  at  Tait  &  Co.'s. 
and  Mr.  Hancock  offered  me  his  and  said  he  would  send 
it  down  and  have  it  ready  for  me.  As  usual  we  went  at 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  found  the  horses 
ready.  Captain  Wood  and  the  ladies  started  off  in  good 
style  and  I  mounted  in  perfect  confidence,  but  my  pony 
refused  to  go  ahead  and  instead  went  sideways  towards 
a  low  mud  fort,  just  above  the  beach,  and  squeezed  me 
against  the  side  of  it.  All  at  once  he  made  a  bolt  and 
went  off  on  the  run,  but  a  little  rivulet  of  water  was  running 
across  the  beach,  and  just  as  he  got  to  it  he  stopped  very 
suddenly.  I,  however,  kept  going  until  I  struck  the  sand, 
which  luckily  for  me  was  very  soft.  I  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  I  would  not  ride  any  more  and  I  took  the 
horse,  which  was  standing  perfectly  still,  and  went  back 
to  my  boat,  and  told  the  steward  to  take  him  and  go  after 
the  party  and  tell  them  I  would  not  ride  any  more.  I 
beheve  that  was  the  last  time  I  ever  rode  horseback.  I 
found  afterwards  that  the  pony  had  not  been  ridden  for 
over  two  months. 

We  were  in  Amoy  for  two  months  and  during  that  time 
the  ship  was  visited  daily  by  many  young  men,  and  though 
my  cousin  had  been  in  Hong  Kong  and  Shanghai  without 
meeting  any  one  who  pleased  her,  it  looked  very  much  as 
though  Amoy  would  furnish  the  right  man.     There  were 


154 

two  who  were  very  attentive — a  Mr.  Richardson  and  a 
Mr.  Hancock — and  it  was  very  doubtful  which  was  the 
favored  one. 

But  the  time  of  our  leaving  was  at  hand.  We  were 
loaded  with  tea  for  New  York,  and  I  was  busy  dropping 
the  ship  through  the  fleet,  and  did  not  come  to  anchor  till 
near  eleven  p.m.  Then  I  was  told  that  Mr.  Richardson 
had  proposed  and  had  been  accepted.  He  wished  my 
cousin  to  stay  and  be  married  then,  but  I  would  not 
consent.  I  told  him  she  must  go  home  first;  and  they 
parted.     We  left  for  New  York  the  next  day. 

Notliing  particular  happened  on  our  voyage  home, 
which  we  made  in  hundred  one  and  eight  days  from  Amoy, 
arriving  in  New  York  January  fifteenth,  1861.  We  were 
in  New  York  for  two  months  and  a  half,  a  good  part  of 
which  time  I  spent  in  South  Danvers. 

There  was  quite  a  difference  of  opinion  in  the  family 
circle  about  my  cousin  Miss  Porter's  going  to  China  to 
marry  Mr.  Richardson.  Some  favored  it;  some  were 
very  much  against  it,  but  I  guaranteed  his  good  character 
and  carried  the  day,  and  it  was  resolved  that  she  go  out 
with  me  and  my  wife  again  and  take  the  chances.  I  told 
my  mother-in-law  she  had  been  faithful  over  a  few  things 
and  I  would  make  her  ruler  over  many,  so  I  left  all  four 
of  my  children  with  her,  to  take  care  of  during  my  absence, 
and  my  wife  and  I,  and  my  cousin,  on  the  fourth  of  April, 
1861,  set  sail  again  for  China. 

For  the  first  five  days  we  had  very  heavy  weather,  but 
after  that  the  usual  kind,  and  we  made  a  good  passage 
to  the  equator,  of  twenty  days.  In  forty-nine  days  we 
passed  the  meridian  of  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  running 
down  our  easting  we  had  a  continuation  of  heavy  gales, 
and  cold,  unpleasant  weather.     On  the  seventy-fifth  day 


155 

we  made  Christmas  Island  and  on  the  seventy-eighth  day 
anchored  in  Anjer.  The  big  comet  had  been  growing 
brighter  and  brighter  till  it  was  a  magnificent  sight.  We 
had  light  winds  all  the  way  up  the  China  Sea,  but  the  night 
of  July  ninth  there  was  a  change,  the  barometer  falling 
and  wind  increasing,  so  I  sent  down  the  skysail  and  royal 
yards,  and  put  the  ship  under  close-reefed  topsails.  The 
storm  grew  worse  at  midnight  and  I  hove  the  ship  to  and 
waited  for  a  typhoon  to  pass  to  the  northward.  This 
was  my  third  experience  of  success  in  clearing  out  from  a 
hurricane  by  heeding  the  law  of  storms.  After  the  storm 
was  over  we  made  sail  and  reached  Hong  Kong  on  the 
evening  of  the  eleventh  of  July,  ninety-seven  days  from 
New  York.  It  had  been  a  very  trying  week  to  all  of  us, 
especially  to  my  cousin,  who  was  worrying  for  fear  that 
Mr.  Richardson  would  not  be  on  hand  to  meet  her.  But 
her  mind  was  now  reUeved,  for  as  soon  as  our  anchor  was 
down  he  came  on  board,  the  first  one.  Of  course  we  were 
all  happy  in  being  thus  assured  that  he  was  true  and  ready 
to  fulfil  his  engagement.  As  he  had  to  return  to  his  busi- 
ness at  Amoy  the  wedding  was  hastened,  and  after  a  short 
time  he  was  married  to  my  cousin  in  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Hong  Kong,  and  with  his  bride  left  for  Amoy.  We 
were  very  sorry  to  part  with  my  cousin,  for  she  was  a  very 
lovely  girl. 

After  many  weeks  in  Hong  Kong,  and  still  no  prospect  of 
loading  tea  for  New  York,  Smith,  Archer  &  Co.  concluded 
to  send  the  ship  to  San  Francisco  with  a  load  of  Chinese 
coolies.  There  was  a  great  demand  for  ships  to  carry  them 
and  it  was  a  money-making  voyage.  The  ship  was 
measured  and  we  were  allowed  to  carry  four  hundred. 
It  took  quite  a  long  time  to  fit  her  out  for  this  new  trade ; 
bunks  had  to  be  built  in  the  between-decks,  furnaces  put 


156 

on  deck  for  cooking,  and  quite  a  large  house  on  deck  for 
stores,  and  a  great  many  extra  water  tanks  and  casks. 
But  we  had  seventy-five  dollars  for  each  Chinaman, 
making  nearly  thirty  thousand  dollars  for  passage  money, 
besides  freight  money,  and  there  were  several  passengers 
in  the  cabin. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  September  all  was  ready  and  we  got 
under  weigh  with  a  light  wind  from  the  east,  and  proceeded 
to  sea.  The  fourth  day  out  the  wind  hauled  to  the  north, 
blowing  fresh  with  falling  barometer,  showing  that  a 
typhoon  was  coming  from  the  east  and  that  I  was  just  in 
front  of  it.  September  twenty-first,  took  in  everything 
but  the  lower  topsails  and  kept  off  south  by  east  to  clear 
the  centre  of  the  storm.  At  three  p.m.  took  in  the  main 
topsail  and  lay  to  on  the  port  tack.  The  wind  was  blowing 
very  heavily  with  torrents  of  rain,  and  very  high,  confused 
sea.  At  eight  p.m.  the  wind  hauled  to  the  west,  which 
showed  me  to  be  on  the  southern  edge  of  the  storm,  and 
the  wind  being  fair,  I  kept  the  ship  away  due  east  and  ran 
along  the  edge  of  the  typhoon.  Soon  the  wind  began  to 
moderate  and  we  made  sail. 

On  the  first  of  October  the  mate  reported  to  me  that 
one  of  the  fresh-water  tanks  had  sprung  a  leak  and  that 
we  had  lost  over  two  thousand  gallons  of  water,  so  I  made 
up  my  mind  to  go  into  Yokohama  and  secure  more  water 
casks.  My  wife  and  the  passengers  were  glad  to  hear  it 
and  made  all  sorts  of  plans  as  to  what  they  would  do, 
but  they  were  doomed  to  disappointment,  for  after  our 
beating  about  the  Bay  of  Yeddo  for  two  days  the  wind 
came  on  to  blow  a  gale  from  the  north,  with  much  rain, 
and  I  kept  the  ship  away  for  San  Francisco,  with  all  my 
water  casks  filled.  We  had  a  very  stormy  passage  with 
lots  of  rain,  so  that  on  arriving  in  San  Francisco  we  still 


157 

had  all  our  water  casks  filled,  notwithstanding  the  large 
quantity  of  water  we  used  daily.  On  the  thirtieth  of 
October  we  made  the  land  at  eight  p.m.,  took  a  pilot 
inside  the  Farallones,  and  at  midnight  came  to  anchor  in 
San  Francisco  Bay,  forty-five  days  from  Hong  Kong. 
We  did  not  lose  a  Chinaman,  but  brought  them  all  safely 
to  their  destination.  They  gave  us  no  trouble,  kept  very 
quiet,  smoking  and  sleeping  and  eating,  and  were  the  best 
kind  of  passengers. 

We  were  detained  in  San  Francisco  till  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  November.  It  was  very  tedious  waiting  for  a 
crew,  as  men  were  unwilling  to  make  a  long  voyage.  At 
last,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  November  we  were  towed  to 
sea  by  the  tug  boat  Columbus  and  at  noon  took  our  depart- 
ure from  Point  Bonita,  six  miles  distant,  with  light  breeze 
and  rain.  The  light  winds  continued  and  it  was  the  twenty- 
first  day  out  that  I  hove  to  off  Honolulu.  I  went  on  shore 
and  Father  Damon  came  off  to  see  my  wife,  as  I  had  no 
intention  of  stopping.  At  five  p.m.  we  filled  away;  had 
light  winds  for  the  next  eighteen  days  and  then  strong 
winds  from  north  northwest  to  southwest.  On  the 
twenty-fourth  of  January  we  sighted  Claro  Babuyan  and 
Richmond  Islands  and  on  the  twenty-sixth  at  eight  a.m. 
came  to  anchor  in  Manila  Bay,  fifty-eight  days  from  San 
Francisco,  a  very  long  passage. 

My  wife  and  I  went  on  shore  to  Peele,  Hubbell  &  Co. 
(agents  of  Messrs.  A.  A.  Low  &  Bros.),  met  many  old 
friends  and  enjoyed  the  change  from  ship  to  shore  life. 
There  had  been  a  heavy  earthquake  a  few  days  before 
we  arrived,  which  we  had  felt  at  sea,  though  at  the  time 
we  were  uncertain  about  it.  The  walls  of  Peele,  Hubbell 
&  Co.'s  house  were  badly  cracked,  and  much  of  the 
Cathedral  wall  was  tumbled  dowTi,  and  the  whole  city 


158 

showed  how  severe  the  shock  had  been,  but  there  was 
no  recurrence  of  the  tremor  and  we  were  not  at  all 
alarmed. 

In  INianila,  and  in  fact  in  all  Spanish  places,  there  are 
about  three  holidays  in  a  week  in  which  you  can  get  no 
work  done,  so  we  were  in  the  harbor  a  month  getting 
half  a  cargo  of  hemp.  But  the  time  passed  pleasantly. 
We  had  our  carriage  in  the  mornings,  with  a  driver,  and 
another  in  the  afternoon,  and  it  was  very  pleasant  to  go 
to  the  Esplanade  and  hear  the  band  play  and  see  the  people, 
for  all  of  the  foreigners  and  also  the  Spanish  community 
were  there  to  show  off  every  afternoon,  and  the  weather 
was  delightful.  My  wife  bought  some  beautiful  Pina 
handkerchiefs  and  scarfs  made  from  the  pineapple  fibre. 
The  material  is  very  beautiful.  She  enjoyed  eating  the 
mango  wliich  is  very  fine  in  these  islands,  and  the  Guava 
jelly  made  there,  which  is  also  delicious. 

But  we  could  not  get  a  full  cargo  there  and  had  to  go  to 
China  to  fill  up  with  teas  and  silks ;  so  after  a  month  we 
took  our  departure  for  Hong  Kong,  on  the  twenty-sixth 
of  February,  1862,  with  light  winds  and  fine  weather. 
On  the  fourth  of  March  we  took  a  pilot,  and  at  eight  p.m. 
anchored  off  Green  Island  in  the  harbor  of  Hong  Kong, 
six  days  from  Manila;  and  after  being  in  Hong  Kong  for 
some  weeks  got  under  weigh  for  Whampoa  to  finish  loading 
for  New  York.  I  took  my  wife  to  Canton  as  usual,  and 
we  had  a  very  pleasant  time  at  Russell  &  Co.'s.  There 
were  many  pleasant  gentlemen  in  the  various  hongs, 
or  merchant's  houses;  in  fact  old  Canton  "couldn't  be 
beat"  as  a  place  of  residence,  while  the  best  of  Hving  in 
the  way  of  fish,  flesh  and  fowl  could  be  had  very  cheap 
and  the  Chinese  cooks  knew  their  business.  With  it  all 
we  were  anxious  to  be  on  our  way  home,  and  were  very 


159 

glad  to  kiiow  it  when  the  last  teas  had  gone  to  the  ship  and 
I  could  sign  the  bills  of  lading  and  settle  up. 

We  had  a  few  passengers  on  our  return  voyage,  one  of 
whom  was  Mrs.  Parker,  a  very  pleasant  lady.  Almost 
all  the  way  home  she  played  cribbage  with  my  wife.  I 
had  a  small  table  made  for  them  which  used  to  be  placed 
somewhere  in  the  shade,  and  soon  after  breakfast  they 
sat  down  to  the  game  and  kept  it  up  a  long  time  every 
pleasant  day.  We  left  on  the  twentieth  of  April  for  New 
York,  and  all  the  way  down  the  China  Sea  we  had  light 
winds.  We  anchored  in  Anjer  on  the  fourteenth  of  May, 
twenty-five  days  from  China.  All  the  way  across  the 
Indian  Ocean  winds  were  light  till  we  reached  Madagascar, 
where  we  experienced  some  heavy  gales. 

We  had  not  been  able  to  get  a  white  crew  in  China  and 
had  had  to  ship  fifty  Lascars,  with  a  serang  as  captain, 
and  two  oflScers.  They  all  worked  together  and  all  hands 
were  called  when  there  was  anything  to  do.  They  made 
splendid  sailors  in  warm  weather  and  were  like  monkeys 
in  going  aloft.  They  Hved  on  rice  and  dried  fish,  eating- 
no  pork  or  beef.  They  had  a  cook  who  made  curry  for 
them,  fresh  every  day,  and  I  had  him  make  it  for  the  cabin, 
it  was  so  very  nice.  On  July  second  we  were  oft'  Agulhas 
Banks,  very  near  the  Cape  of  that  name,  and  the  wind 
died  out.  After  breakfast  I  had  the  mate  tie  some  fish 
hooks  on  the  deep  sea  lead  line,  and  bait  them  with  salt 
pork  and  then  throw  it  over  to  get  soundings.  On  hauling 
it  in  we  found  every  hook  had  a  fine  fish  on  it;  we  threw 
it  again  and  caught  more.  It  began  to  get  exciting,  and 
the  Lascars  went  to  fishing  on  their  owti  hook  and  the  fish 
were  hauled  in  as  fast  at  they  could  throw  their  lines. 
It  was  not  necessary  to  let  the  line  go  to  the  bottom,  for 
the  fish  had  followed  up  to  nearly  the  top  of  the  water. 


160 

The  ship  was  covered  with  blood  and  scales  from  the  bows 
to  the  taffrail.  We  had  Cape  salmon,  sea  bass  and  Spanish 
mackerel,  weighing  from  five  to  fifteen  pounds  apiece, 
and  as  we  could  not  eat  them  all,  the  Lascars  cleaned  and 
salted  them.  We  had  to  open  several  casks  of  salt  beef 
and  pork  to  get  salt  enough  though  the  fish  took  but  little. 
I  was  surprised  to  see  how  little,  but  there  were  over  two 
hundred  of  them.  They  lasted  us  till  we  reached  New 
York.  The  Lascars  enjoyed  them  very  much  and  so  we 
all  did;  they  were  certainly  as  good  fish  as  I  ever  tasted. 
After  an  all  day's  calm  the  wind  was  moderate  from 
the  west  during  the  night,  and  then  increased  to  a  fresh 
gale  which  lasted  for  two  days,  when  it  moderated.  At 
three  p.m.  of  July  sixth  we  made  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
seventy-eight  days  from  Hong  Kong.  For  nine  days 
after,  we  had  the  hardest  luck  I  ever  had,  a  succession  of 
calms  and  light  head  winds,  and  not  till  we  reached  latitude 
24°  south  did  we  get  the  southeast  trades.  On  the  twenti- 
eth of  July  at  four  a.m.  we  made  St.  Helena  and  at  eight 
A.M.  came  to  anchor.  My  wife  and  the  passengers  hired 
carriages  and  we  drove  to  Longwood  to  view  the  dwelling 
place  of  Napoleon;  also  visited  his  grave,  which  was 
empty,  for  his  remains  had  been  removed  to  France. 
Jamesto\^^l,  where  we  landed,  is  rather  a  pleasant  place, 
but  the  American  Consul  told  me  that  all  the  wooden 
buildings  were  being  eaten  up  by  white  ants,  and  showed 
me  their  work  on  his  own  house,  the  foundations  of  which 
were  riddled  and  ready  to  let  the  house  down.  At  nine 
P.M.  we  had  finished  taking  in  stores  and  got  under  weigh, 
with  light  southeast  trades  which  continued  moderate, 
and  we  crossed  the  line  July  thirty-first,  one  hundred  and 
three  days  from  Hong  Kong.  Light  winds  continued  and 
on  the  twenty-sixth  of  August  we  took  a  pilot  off  Absecom 


161 

at  two  P.M.,  reaching  New  York  at  seven  p.m.,  after  the 
longest  passage  I  ever  made. 

After  a  few  days  in  New  York  I  went  to  South  Danvers 
with  my  wife  and  had  a  joj-ful  reunion  with  her  mother 
and  the  children.  We  had  been  away  from  home  sixteen 
months,  and  Charles  and  Josiah  had  grown  to  be  big  boys, 
at  any  rate  they  thought  they  had.  Frank  and  Fannie 
too  were  getting  along  fast.  After  six  weeks  at  South 
Danvers  I  was  again  called  to  my  ship,  which  was  loading 
for  China. 

A  steamer  had  been  built  in  New  York  to  be  sent  to 
China.  She  was  set  up  and  then  taken  apart,  and  the 
N.  B.  Palmer  was  to  carry  her.  All  the  woodwork  and 
all  the  machinery  we  got  below  decks,  but  the  huge  boilers 
were  to  be  taken  on  deck.  They  weighed  twenty  tons 
each,  and  the  main  deck  had  to  be  shored  up  from  the 
keelson,  and  the  between-decks  strengthened.  When 
the  ship  was  ready,  the  floating  derrick  came  alongside 
with  them  and  it  was  beautiful  to  see  these  immense  boilers 
lifted  and  landed  just  in  the  bed  prepared  to  receive  them. 
They  were  nearly  eight  feet  above  the  rail,  and  the  smoke- 
stacks reached  half  way  to  the  main-top.  I  did  not  like 
such  a  deck  load,  and  thinking  of  the  long  run  in  the 
Indian  Ocean  before  the  westerly  gales  and  of  the  ship's 
rolling  for  days  and  weeks,  I  could  not  avoid  anxiety  as 
to  what  would  happen  if  those  immense  weights  should 
break  adrift.  However,  they  were  lashed  securely  with 
chains  and  wedged  most  carefully.  They  were  to  go  to 
China,  and  I  was  to  be  the  Captain  of  the  ship  to  take 
them  there,  and  I  made  the  best  of  it.  We  had  for  pas- 
sengers Captain  jSIcDonald,  who  was  to  have  charge  of 
the  steamer  in  China,  Mr.  Laing  and  his  son,  engineers, 
three  carpenters  and  machinists  to  put  the  boat  together, 


162 

and  four  missionaries  with  their  wives,  quite  a  full  cabin. 
Some  of  my  Lascars  had  been  enticed  away,  and  as  no 
white  sailors  would  ship  with  them,  I  had  to  take  black 
sailors,  and  I  had  nine  men  as  black  as  they  are  made. 

Being  ready  for  sea  we  left  New  York  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  October,  1862,  with  a  light  northerly  wind  hauling 
to  the  eastward,  which  ended  the  next  day  with  a  fresh 
gale  with  heavy  rain.  The  second  day  had  heavy  gale 
from  southeast,  and  as  it  was  dead  ahead  we  made  small 
progress.  The  third  day  was  still  worse;  we  lost  our 
mainsail  and  jib  and  one  of  the  quarter  boats  was  washed 
from  the  davits.  October  thirtieth,  five  days  out,  the  wind 
hauled  to  the  northwest  and  we  scudded  before  it  and  had 
a  chance  to  see  how  the  boilers  were  going  to  hold.  We 
found  at  the  end  of  the  storm  that  they  had  not  moved  a 
particle ;  they  were  as  firm  as  the  ship  itself,  and  all  hands 
were  much  relieved  as  well  as  myself.  With  light  winds 
and  fine  weather  we  reached  latitude  5°  north,  where  we 
took  the  southeast  trade  winds  and  crossed  the  line  twenty- 
eight  days  out.  November  twenty-sixth  we  made  the 
Brazifian  coast,  near  San  Miguel.  Had  a  beating  match 
along  the  coast  and  a  fine  view  of  Pemambuco  and  Olinda. 
December  first,  passed  within  six  miles  of  Trinidad  and 
with  variable  winds  and  nothing  remarkable  occurring, 
we  carried  the  boilers  safely  through  the  Indian  Ocean, 
and  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  January,  1863,  made  the  Straits 
of  Alias  and  at  two  p.m.  came  to  anchor  in  Bally  roads. 

We  found  the  American  ship  Rapid  badly  on  shore  and 
half  full  of  water.  She  was  loaded  with  coal,  and  if  we  had 
been  in  ballast  I  could  have  made  a  good  deal  of  money 
by  taking  it  to  Hong  Kong,  as  the  ship  and  cargo  were  to 
be  sold  for  a  mere  song.  At  the  request  of  the  Captain,  I 
took  the  crew  on  board  as  passengers  to  Hong  Kong,  but 


163 

they  had  been  on  shore  too  long  and  had  taken  the  deadly 
Java  fever,  and  three  of  them  died  before  we  reached  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  care  and 
medical  skill  of  the  missionaries  who  nursed  them,  I  believe 
all  of  them  would  have  died,  for  every  one  was  taken  sick. 
Fortunately  none  of  my  own  crew  took  the  disease. 

January  the  twenty-fourth,  came  to  anchor  in  Cajeli 
Bay  for  water.  It  was  just  about  fifteen  years  since  I  first 
anchored  in  tliis  bay  to  get  water  and  spars,  after  being 
dismasted  in  the  Indian  Ocean  in  the  ship  Houqua,  on 
my  first  voyage  as  Master,  and  I  found  many  changes. 
There  was  a  new  governor  and  no  one  who  remembered 
me,  but  we  were  cordially  received  by  the  Dutch  governor, 
and  myself  and  all  the  passengers  were  dined  and  feasted 
by  him  and  his  household.  We  were  there  two  days,  and 
as  it  rained  heavily,  it  was  tedious  work  taking  the  water 
casks  on  shore  and  towing  them  back  to  the  ship.  On 
the  twenty-sixth  of  January  we  took  advantage  of  the 
land  breeze  and  at  ten  p.m.  sailed  out  of  the  harbor. 

For  three  days  we  met  light  winds  and  calms  and  on  the 
fifth  of  February  we  were  becalmed  off  St.  Andrews 
Island,  latitude  7°  north,  132°  east  longitude.  Some  fifteen 
or  twenty  canoes,  with  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  natives, 
all  naked  and  tattooed  from  head  to  foot,  surrounded  the 
ship ;  but  I  would  not  allow  one  of  them  on  board,  and  as  I 
had  a  big  crew  of  Lascars  and  negroes,  we  were  enabled 
to  show  a  row  of  faces  from  the  bow  to  the  stern.  We 
bought  all  their  yams  and  fruit  and  most  of  them  left. 
There  was  one  boat,  however,  that  kept  by  us  and  begged 
for  tobacco.  A  plug  was  hove  overboard  and  the  whole 
crew  jumped  after  it.  The  steward  then  brought  up  an 
old  wliite  hat  and  threw  it  over,  and  they  went  after  that. 
Soon  one  man  stood  up  in  the  canoe  with  the  hat  on  his 


164 

head  and  quite  proud  of  himself.  That  was  all  he  had  on. 
Then  some  one  threw  over  a  pair  of  drawers,  another  an 
undershirt,  till  at  last  the  whole  creAv  stood  up  in  the  canoe, 
each  with  an  article  of  dress  on,  forming  one  of  the  most 
comical  sights  I  ever  saw.  I  have  always  regretted  that 
I  had  no  camera  to  take  a  photo  of  them. 

We  soon  got  a  fine  breeze  and  went  on  our  way,  and  on 
February  fourteenth  took  a  pilot  and  anchored  in  Hong 
Kong,  one  hundred  and  twelve  days  from  New  York,  a 
very  good  passage  by  the  Eastern  route.  We  sailed  the 
next  day  for  Whampoa  to  discharge  our  cargo.  I  was 
agreeably  disappointed  in  finding  I  should  have  no  trouble 
in  discharging  the  heavy  boilers,  as  a  large  wharf  had  been 
built  and  a  fine  large  derrick,  capable  of  hfting  the  heaviest 
of  machinery,  was  erected  upon  it.  We  anchored  and 
moored  close  to  the  wharf,  and  discharged  most  of  the 
woodwork  of  the  steamer,  M^hich  lightened  the  ship  so 
we  could  haul  alongside  the  wharf  and  be  afloat  at  low 
tide.  We  were  not  long  in  doing  it  and  were  soon  under 
the  derrick,  and  the  boilers  were  landed  almost  as  easily 
as  they  were  put  on  board.  I  was  greatly  reUeved  when 
it  was  over  with  no  accident  and  no  damage. 

Many  men  were  put  to  work  and  the  building  of  the 
steamer  progressed  so  rapidly  that  before  we  sailed  again, 
two  months  from  the  time  we  began  to  unload,  she  was 
launched,  and  christened  the  Thomas  Hunt.  Of  course 
it  took  many  months  to  finish  her  deck  and  cabin  fittings. 
She  was  a  very  pretty  boat  and  did  good  work  carrying 
passengers  between  Hong  Kong  and  Canton. 

There  being  no  chance  for  a  home  cargo  it  was  resolved 
to  send  the  N.  B.  Palmer  to  San  Francisco  with  tea,  rice 
and  sugar,  freights  being  very  good.  We  took  in  most  of 
the  cargo  in  Whampoa,  but  filled  up  in  Hong  Kong,  and 


165 

after  t^o  months  and  a  half  in  port  we  left,  the  thirtieth 
of  May,  for  San  Francisco.  We  had  quite  a  large  number 
of  passengers,  most  of  them  minstrels  under  Charles 
Backus;  and  one  sick  man,  a  Mr.  Mackintosh,  who  was 
in  hopes  to  get  home  to  his  wife  and  brothers.  Poor  fellow ! 
he  died  when  we  were  twent}'-three  days  out  and  I  had  to 
bury  him  at  sea,  as  there  were  no  means  of  preserving  the 
body. 

We  had  the  usual  stormy  weather  and  days  of  light 
winds,  but  made  a  good  passage  of  forty-four  days  from 
Hong  Kong.  We  took  a  pilot  off  the  Farallones  and 
anchored  in  San  Francisco  at  six  p.m.  of  the  twelfth  of 
July,  1863.  I  had  been  quite  sick  on  the  voyage  over, 
and  as  the  Civil  W^ar  was  now  at  its  height,  and  the  Ala- 
bama in  the  China  Sea  (and  as  the  N.  B.  Palmer  which  was 
to  go  back  to  China  might  be  detained  there  an  indefinite 
time)  I  consulted  the  consignees,  who  telegraphed  to  A.  A. 
Low  &  Bros,  for  Uberty  to  make  Mr.  Joseph  Steele  (my 
mate)  Master  of  the  ship,  so  that  I  could  return  home  by 
way  of  Panama.  A  favorable  answer  was  returned,  and 
a  few  days  before  the  ship  sailed  for  Cliina,  I  made  Mr. 
Steele  Captain. 

Shortly  after  she  sailed  I  took  passage  in  the  steamer 
Golden  Age  for  Panama.  I  was  very  glad  to  make  a 
voyage  in  an  ocean  steamer,  as  I  had  never  been  in  one 
and  I  had  heard  how  they  went  ahead  through  high  seas 
and  cared  nothing  for  head  winds.  The  Golden  Age  was 
a  fine  steamer,  but  nothing  like  those  that  crossed  the 
Atlantic  between  New  York  and  Liverpool.  She  had 
state-rooms  above  the  deck  and  a  hurricane  deck  running 
to  her  bows  and  a  good  deal  of  top  hamper.  While  she 
was  getting  ready  for  sea  I  often  went  on  board,  and  I 
expressed  to  the  Captain  and  mate  my  desire  to  see  a  gale 


166 

of  wind  on  the  passage,  to  see  what  weather  she  would 
make  of  it,  and  they  remembered  it. 

We  started  the  first  week  in  August  with  fine  weather. 
We  had  over  one  hundred  passengers,  and  a  very  pleasant 
set  of  people.  The  fare  was  excellent — for  almost  every- 
thing could  be  had  in  San  Francisco  in  the  way  of  eatables 
— and  everything  was  pleasant.  The  Captain  was  a  young 
man  and  very  attentive  to  his  passengers.  All  went  well, 
the  ocean  as  smooth  as  could  be  and  the  weather  warm 
and  pleasant  till  we  neared  Cape  Corientes.  At  six  a.m. 
the  mate  came  to  my  room  and  called,  "  Captain  Low,  if 
you  want  to  see  a  gale  of  wind,  now  is  your  chance." 
My  state-room  looked  out  on  the  ocean,  so  I  looked  out, 
but  to  my  thinking  there  was  but  a  very  small  gale  blowing 
and  I  turned  over  and  went  to  sleep  again.  At  seven  the 
Captain  came  and  called  me  to  see  a  gale  of  wind.  At 
that  I  got  up,  thinking  there  must  be  something  to  see. 
I  dressed  leisurely  and  went  down  on  the  main  deck,  and 
I  saw  that  if  it  was  not  blowing  very  hard,  the  steamer  was 
making  bad  weather  of  it.  The  sea  was  washing  over  the 
deck  abaft  the  paddle  boxes — for  she  was  a  side  wheeler. 
I  went  up  to  the  Captain's  room  and  looked  at  the  barom- 
eter, which  was  quite  low  and  some  three-tenths  below 
where  it  had  been  set.  I  then  went  out  to  the  forward 
part  of  the  boat  where  the  Captain  was  standing  outside 
the  wheel  box.  The  steamer  was  motionless  and  lying 
in  the  trough  of  the  sea,  in  a  very  dangerous  position.  The 
wind  was  blowing  hard.  I  gaid  nothing,  not  wishing  to 
interfere  and  supposing  the  Captain  knew  what  he  was 
about;  but  a  heavier  gust  of  wind  came,  lifting  the  hurri- 
cane deck  over  the  forward  deck,  so  that  some  of  the 
stanchions  fell  out,  and  at  the  same  time  throwing  the 
steamer  over  so  that  the  guards  went  under  and  a  lot  of 


167 

sheep  were  washed  into  the  sea.  The  second  officer  was 
hurled  across  the  deck,  breaking  his  arm.  I  felt  it  was 
time  to  speak  and  I  touched  the  Captain's  arm  and  said 
to  him,  "Your  vessel  is  in  a  dangerous  position;  you  must 
do  something  to  bring  her  head  to  the  sea,  or  she  will  go 
over  and  drown  us  all."  He  said  something  about  the 
engine  being  on  the  centre  and  he  could  not  get  headway. 
I  asked  him  if  he  had  no  after  sail  to  set.  I  knew  she 
carried  sail,  but  it  seems  there  was  none  bent.  Then  I 
asked  him  if  I  should  try  and  find  some  way  to  get  her 
head  to  the  sea.  He  thanked  me  and  I  jumped  up  on 
the  hurricane  deck  and  looked  aft.  Then  I  saw  the 
curtains  that  were  hauled  down  in  fine  weather  to  keep 
the  sun  off  when  low  down.  I  then  went  to  the  Captain 
and  requested  him  to  order  some  men  to  help  me,  and 
when  they  came  I  ordered  them  to  loose  the  curtains  and 
trice  them  down  to  the  deck.  It  was  a  hard  job,  for  it 
was  blowing  a  fierce  gale,  but  the  effect  on  the  ship  was 
immediate,  for  it  brought  her  head  to  the  sea  and  she  was 
as  steady  as  could  be.  I  took  the  second  mate's  place 
and  worked  the  awnings  for  some  hours,  and  the  gale  did 
not  last  long.  By  five  p.m.  the  steamer  was  started  on 
her  course  again,  but  I  really  believe  if  I  had  not  been  on 
board  she  would  have  foundered  with  all  on  board.  The 
passengers  realized  their  danger  and  my  help;  they  held 
a  meeting  in  the  cabin  the  next  day  and  passed  resolutions 
thanking  me  for  my  prompt  action.  As  for  myself,  I 
concluded  I  would  rather  have  a  good  sailing  ship  than  a 
steamer,  any  time.  The  Captain  said  it  was  the  first 
real  gale  of  wind  he  had  ever  seen  and  he  had  been  in  the 
trade  ten  years — he  was  no  sailor,  evidently.  After  the 
gale  we  had  fine  weather  and  reached  Panama  in  safety. 
I  was  agreeably  disappointed  in  the  trip  across  the  Isth- 


168 

mus,  for  instead  of  being  very  hot,  it  was  very  pleasant, 
and  I  enjoyed  the  ride  immensely.  At  Aspinwall  we  took 
the  steamer  Colon,  Captain  Finklepaugh,  for  New  York. 
There  was  a  great  difference  in  the  living  on  board.  Ships 
from  New  York  lay  in  provisions  enough  to  last  out  and 
home,  kept  in  ice  houses,  but  the  ice  had  given  out  and 
the  meats  had  spoiled,  so  we  had  to  put  up  with  a  diet  of 
beans,  salt  pork  and  salt  beef,  with  ham  and  eggs  occasion- 
ally. There  was  much  growlmg  among  the  California 
passengers,  but  the  weather  was  pleasant  and  after  a 
short  passage  we  arrived  in  New  York,  My  family  were 
all  in  South  Danvers,  so  in  a  few  days  I  went  on  to  join 
them. 

I  had  been  at  home  some  eight  months  when  my  brothers 
Abbot  and  Josiah  proposed  that  my  brother  Edward  and 
myself  should  go  into  business  together  in  New  York. 
I  agreed  to  this  and  we  hired  part  of  the  store  next  to 
A.  A.  Low  &  Bros.,  laid  in  a  stock  of  teas  and  China  goods, 
and  did  very  well.  As  it  looked  like  a  permanent  thing,  I 
sold  my  place  and  moved  my  family  on  to  Brooklyn, 
where  my  brother  Abbot  rented  me  the  house  on  Jora- 
lemon  St.,  No.  150,  a  very  pleasant  house  near  Court  St. 
Our  business  prospered  and  I  was  contented  till  I  heard 
of  Captain  Steele's  long  passages  in  my  old  ship  the  N.  B. 
Palmer.  He  made  a  very  long  passage  from  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  then  one  of  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  days 
from  China  to  New  York.  Again  leavmg  New  York  he 
had  another  very  long  passage  to  China,  I  think  nearly 
one  hundred  and  sixty  days.     This  worried  me  very  much. 

In  the  summer  of  1866,  I  with  quite  a  number  of 
Brooklyn  men,  started  the  Atlantic  Yacht  Club;  and  I 
purchased  the  yacht  Annie  Laurie,  a  sloop,  forty  feet  long 
and  very  comfortable,  a  good  sea-boat  and  a  good  sailer. 


169 

I  had  a  very  nice  time  in  her  and  made  several  excursions 
dowTi  the  Sound,  but  it  took  too  much  money,  and  time 
too,  so  I  sold  her,  after  o\^Tiing  her  eighteen  months.  She 
went  into  the  fishing  business  and  I  never  saw  her  ag^ain. 

Our  business  was  very  good  till  the  winter  of  1867  and 
1868,  when  there  was  a  great  crash  and  we  thought  we 
had  better  close  out.  The  N.  B.  Palmer  had  made 
another  long  passage  home;  my  brothers  offered  me 
command  of  her  again  and  I  jumped  at  the  offer.  I  left 
my  brother  Edward  to  close  up  the  business,  and  took  to 
the  ship  with  as  much  pleasure  as  when  I  first  went  to  sea. 
I  secured  Captain  Nairn,  a  Scotchman,  as  chief  mate,  a 
man  who  had  commanded  one  of  the  finest  ships  out  of 
New  York,  the  Jeremiah  Thompson,  but  another  captain 
had  bought  him  out,  and  as  captains  were  very  plenty  he 
had  to  take  a  mate's  berth.  When  he  came  to  me  I  asked 
him  if,  after  having  commanded,  he  could  serve  willingly 
as  chief  mate.  He  said  he  was  able  and  willing  to  do 
mate's  duty,  and  so  he  was.  I  never  had  so  good  a  mate 
as  he  proved  to  be;  a  thorough  sailor  and  disciplinarian, 
he  was  firm  and  made  every  sailor  obey  and  respect  him. 
I  had  been  on  shore  over  four  years,  and  I  thought  every- 
thing would  have  to  be  learned  over  again,  but  as  soon  as  I 
stepped  my  foot  on  board  the  ship  I  was  perfectly  at 
home  and  would  not  have  knowTi  that  I  had  been  on  shore 
at  all. 

We  left  New  York  May  fifteenth,  1868,  for  Hong  Kong. 
I  was  alone  in  the  big  cabin,  for  there  were  no  passengers. 
The  railroad  across  the  continent  to  San  Francisco  and 
the  Pacific  mail  steamers  from  that  port  to  China  and 
Japan  took  all  the  passengers  in  half  the  time  and  at  less 
expense.  For  a  few  days  I  was  very  lonesome,  but  I 
soon  got  used  to  it  and  spent  most  of  my  time  on  deck 


170 

looking  after  the  ship.  Our  start,  from  the  time  the  pilot 
left  us  was  very  discouraging;  Hght  head  winds  and  calms 
for  four  days,  at  the  end  of  which  we  were  not  over  two 
hundred  miles  from  New  York.  We  then  took  a  gale 
from  southeast  veering  to  the  south,  and  on  the  fourteenth 
day  out  we  came  up  with  the  clipper  ship  Game  Cock, 
which  left  five  days  before  us.  We  were  in  company  five 
days,  when  we  left  her  out  of  sight  astern.  We  crossed 
the  line  twenty-six  days  from  New  York  and  had  a  fair 
run  to  the  longitude  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  but 
from  there  the  winds  held  to  the  south  and  east  so  as  to 
prevent  my  getting  south  as  far  as  I  wanted  to  go.  I 
was  in  latitude  34°  when  I  should  have  been  in  39°  or 
40°.  However,  I  managed  to  get  along  and  hove  to  off 
Anjer  in  seventy-eight  days  from  New  York,  a  very  good 
passage  after  all,  and  after  twelve  more  days  reached  Hong 
Kong,  ninety  days  from  New  York,  the  first  decent  passage 
the  ship  had  made  for  four  years. 

We  were  kept  in  Hong  Kong  over  five  weeks  waiting 
orders.  On  September  twenty-second  we  left  for  Yoko- 
hama to  load  for  New  York.  We  had  hght  winds  and 
calms  till  we  passed  Formosa,  when  we  had  a  variety  of 
weather,  short  gales  and  calms,  and  on  the  sixteenth  of 
October  a  hard  gale,  when  we  hove  to  off  Cape  Idsu, 
Japan.  At  four  a.m.  a  Japanese  junk  running  before 
the  gale  struck  us  in  the  port  quarter  and  stove  a  hole  just 
above  the  cabin  floor,  a  foot  above  the  water,  nearly  three 
feet  square.  We  managed  to  batten  two  thicknesses  of 
stout  canvas  over  it  which  kept  the  water  out,  and  as  it 
was  on  the  weather  side  most  of  the  time,  we  got  along  very 
well.  At  seven  a.m.  we  took  a  pilot  off  Susaki,  were  all 
day  beating  up  the  Uraga  Channel,  and  at  eight  p.m. 
anchored  off  Yokohama,  twenty-eight  days  from  Hong 


171 

Kong.  The  weather  was  very  unpleasant.  The  residents 
said  it  had  been  raining  since  the  first  of  May.  Soon 
after  we  arrived  it  began  to  snow  and  was  very  cold. 

The  Japanese  are  not  so  pleasant  to  deal  with  as  the 
Chinese.  The  reason  why  I  did  not  Uke  them  was  be- 
cause there  were  so  few  who  could  speak  English.  The 
Japanese  language  is  very  easy  to  acquire  and  the  foreigners 
all  spoke  it,  or  enough  of  it  to  carry  on  their  business,  so 
the  natives  did  not  in  those  days  try  to  learn  English. 

The  entrance  to  the  harbor,  in  fact  the  whole  coast  of 
Japan,  is  very  beautiful,  and  as  we  had  to  beat  all  the 
way  along  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  different  landscapes, 
the  ground  being  cultivated  from  the  shore  to  the  top  of 
the  hills  with  different  plants,  showing  many  colored 
squares,  a  most  pleasing  effect.  Yokohama  is  a  very 
good  place  to  Uve.  The  English  and  American  business 
houses  are  very  similar  to  those  in  China,  the  head  men 
and  clerks  Uving  Uke  princes,  and  having  on  their  tables 
good  meats  and  fish  and  plenty  of  game.  In  fact  Japan 
and  China  have  everything  in  plenty  to  suit  the  palate. 
The  Japanese  are  not  troubled  with  much  modesty; 
their  bath  houses  are  on  the  streets  and  men  and  women 
bathe  in  full  sight  of  all  passers. 

After  lying  in  the  harbor  for  over  two  months  we  began 
to  load  for  home.  The  stevedores  are  not  as  smart  as 
the  Chinese,  but  still  did  well.  About  ten  days  before 
we  were  ready  to  sail,  a  clipper  English  bark  was  ready 
for  sea,  and  the  Captain  had  a  talk  with  my  mate.  He 
said  he  was  going  to  New  York  and  that  when  we  arrived 
he  would  be  on  the  wharf  to  take  our  hawser.  Mr.  Nairn 
told  him  he  did  not  know  what  he  was  saying;  that  Captain 
Low  knew  every  wave  that  rolled  and  every  wind  that  blew 
between  Yokohama  and  New  York,  and  it  was  more 


172 

likely  that  we  should  be  in  New  York  to  welcome  him. 
To  end  the  story,  we  left  a  fortnight  after  him  and  arrived 
in  New  York  thirty-five  days  before  him,  had  discharged 
our  cargo  and  were  nearly  loaded  before  he  arrived.  His 
excuse  was  that  he  went  to  the  east^va^d  of  Bermuda  and 
had  a  hard  time  getting  to  the  westward. 

On  the  first  of  January  we  got  under  weigh  and  pro- 
ceeded to  sea.  The  first  day  out  four  of  the  crew  were 
laid  up  with  typhus  fever  and  were  very  sick.  On  the 
ninth  day  Albert  Pitman,  a  fine  young  seaman,  died,  and 
on  the  sixteenth  Dexter  Howard,  my  third  mate,  died; 
both  were  buried  at  sea.  The  others  recovered,  but  were 
not  able  to  do  duty  for  some  weeks.  Considering  the  time 
of  year,  we  had  a  long  passage  of  twenty-five  days  to 
Anjer.  Instead  of  strong  northeast  monsoon  we  had 
light  winds  with  much  rain  and  unpleasant  weather.  We 
passed  Cape  of  Good  Hope  fifty-six  days  from  Yoko- 
hama. We  met  light  trades  and  baffling  winds  in  the 
South  Atlantic  and  were  eighty  days  out  before  crossing 
the  line.  We  took  a  pilot  on  the  sixteenth  of  April,  one 
hundred  and  six  days  from  Yokohama,  a  long  passage 
for  me,  but  a  great  improvement  on  the  last  three  passages. 

After  six  weeks  on  shore,  on  the  second  of  June,  1869, 
I  again  set  sail  for  Shanghai,  Mr.  Nairn  with  me  as  mate 
and  no  passengers.  I  started  in  to  copy  all  my  journals 
in  new  books,  as  the  old  ones  were  wearing  out.  It  was 
a  big  job,  but  it  passed  the  time  away  when  I  was  tired 
of  being  on  deck.  However,  it  was  not  often  I  felt  tired 
when  there  was  a  good  breeze,  or  when  there  was  some- 
thing to  do  in  trimming  sails  to  a  baffling  wind.  We  had 
a  long  passage  of  thirty  days  to  the  line  and  it  seemed  to 
me  there  was  getting  to  be  less  wind  all  the  time.  We 
saw  many  vessels  bound  home,  but  not  near  enough  to 


173 

send  letters.  We  got  our  first  heavy  weather  in  38°  south, 
26°  west.  We  had  it  all  the  time  we  were  running  down 
our  easting,  and  we  made  good  time,  passing  Anjer  in 
seventy-seven  days  from  New  York.  We  also  had  a  good 
passage  up  the  China  Sea.  Took  a  pilot  off  Lenconna 
from  pilot  boat  number  seven,  ninety-five  days  from  New 
York,  a  fine  passage  considering  we  were  tliirty  days  to 
the  fine  in  the  Atlantic.  We  were  fortunate  in  getting 
up  the  river,  and  anchored  off  Shanghai  on  the  eighth  of 
September.  We  were  in  Shanghai  three  months  before 
we  could  get  a  cargo  of  tea,  as  the  Chinese  merchants 
held  out  for  higher  prices  and  the  English  and  American 
merchants  refused  to  pay.  There  were  a  large  number  of 
vessels  of  both  nations  in  port,  and  the  Chinaman  said 
to  the  merchants,  "Too  many  ships  in  Shanghai;  cost 
too  much  money;  must  have  tea;  Chinaman  in  no  hurry, 
bye  and  bye  must  pay  Chinaman's  price."  And  sure 
enough,  first  the  English  yielded,  then  the  rest  followed, 
and  the  Chinese  merchants  won  the  game.  Hard  work 
to  get  ahead  of  them!  There  were  many  shipmasters 
with  their  wives,  and  I  had  a  very  pleasant  time,  living 
on  shore  a  good  part  of  the  time  with  Smith,  Archer  & 
Co., but  I  went  afloat  every  day,  visiting  the  difl'erent  ships. 
Although  the  weather  was  very  cold  and  there  was  much 
snow,  it  melted  in  a  short  time  so  that  little  remained  on 
the  ground. 

My  brother  Edward  and  his  wife  were  there  (in  Shang- 
hai) and  were  to  go  home  with  me.  He  had  been  an 
invalid  for  a  number  of  years  and  had  made  the  voyage 
to  China  in  hopes  of  recovering  his  health.  He  had 
improved  much  but  was  far  from  well.  I  was  very  glad 
to  have  their  company  home. 

On  December  second,  18G9  we  started  down  the  river 


174 

and  anchored  in  Woosung  where  we  lay  wind  bound  till 
the  sixth,  the  wind  blowing  so  hard  we  could  not  beat 
down  the  Yang-tse  River  with  safety.  On  the  sixth  we 
got  under  weigh  and  at  half  past  twelve  the  pilot  left  us 
off  the  light  ship  in  a  strong,  north  northeast  wind  and 
dark,  cloudy  weather.  We  passed  Hong  Kong  in  seventy- 
two  hours  from  Shanghai,  and  sent  a  letter  on  shore  by  a 
pilot  boat  which  reported  us.  The  weather  continued 
cloudy,  with  fresh  breezes  till  we  neared  the  Natunas 
Islands.  Just  south  of  these  islands  we  had  a  heavy 
squall,  called  a  "  Sumatra,"  when  we  had  to  take  in  every- 
thing but  close-reefed  topsails  and  lost  a  main-topsail- 
staysail.  These  squalls  come  up  very  suddenly,  with  a 
single  flash  of  lightning  in  the  west  as  the  warning,  and 
you  must  get  sail  in  as  quickly  as  possible.  In  this  season 
they  occur  almost  daily  and  we  had  heavy  squalls  as  far 
down  as  Gaspar  Straits.  We  passed  Anjer  in  fourteen 
days  from  Shanghai,  a  good  passage;  had  strong  winds 
beating  down  the  straits.  On  the  fifteenth  day  we  passed 
Prince's  Island,  having  very  light  winds  to  15°  south 
latitude,  when  we  took  the  southeast  trades  and  had  a 
good  run  to  Madagascar.  There  we  met  heavy  gales 
with  thunder  and  lightning,  which  continued  to  Cape 
Padrone  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  The  current  here  runs 
rapidly  to  the  southwest,  and  the  wind  blowing  contrary, 
or  against  the  current,  made  a  very  bad  sea,  tossing  the 
ship  about  in  a  most  uncomfortable  manner.  My  brother 
and  his  wife  were  good  sailors,  however,  and  stood  it 
bravely.  Off  L'Agulhas  Bank  we  caught  several  fish, 
but  did  not  stop  to  fish.  We  passed  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
on  the  twenty-ninth  of  January,  1870.  With  moderate 
trades  we  crossed  the  line  in  seventy-seven  days  from 
Shanghai  and  had  light  northeast  trades  and  baffling  winds 


175 

to  Cape  Hatteras,  where  we  took  a  heavy  gale  from  north- 
west and  in  the  Gulf  Stream  we  were  hove  to  for  three 
days  in  a  furious  gale  with  heavy  squalls  of  snow  and  hail. 
On  the  twentieth  of  March  it  moderated,  and  we  made 
sail,  and  on  the  twenty-second  made  Fire  Island  Light  at 
eight  P.M.  At  seven  a.m.  on  the  twenty-third  took  a  pilot 
and  reached  New  York  early  in  the  afternoon,  one  hundred 
and  six  davs  from  Shanghai. 

I  had  a  pleasant  sojourn  with  my  family  for  six  weeks, 
until  the  ship  was  again  loaded  and  ready  to  sail  for  Cliina, 
Hong  Kong  being  the  first  port  to  call  at.  There  was 
nothing  worthy  of  note  on  the  passage  out.  We  had  the 
usual  variable  weather  and  passed  Anjer  eighty  days 
from  New  York,  and  anchored  in  Hong  Kong  on  the 
fifteenth  of  August,  1870,  ninety-three  days  from  New 
York,  a  very  good  passage. 

We  discharged  our  cargo  and  took  in  a  half  cargo  of 
cotton  goods  and  sailed  for  Shanghai  the  twenty-ninth  of 
August.  The  southwest  monsoon  was  over  and  we  had 
calms  and  light  winds  from  southwest  to  north  northeast 
to  25°  north  latitude,  where  we  met  strong  breezes  from 
north  northeast  and  dead  ahead,  but  on  the  sixteenth  of 
September  we  took  a  pilot  from  boat  No.  5  off  the 
Saddle  Islands,  and  with  a  good  passage  up  the  river  an- 
chored in  Shanghai  on  the  eighteenth  of  September,  seven- 
teen days  from  Hong  Kong. 

After  six  weeks  in  Shanghai,  with  notliing  worthy  of 
note  to  remark  upon,  we  left  for  New  York  on  the  thirtieth 
of  October  with  a  full  cargo  of  teas.  After  a  long  passage 
of  twenty-six  days  we  put  into  Anjer  for  medical  assistance, 
four  or  five  of  my  men  being  down  with  typhus  fever. 
We  lay  at  anchor  for  four  days,  until  the  sick  men  were  out 
of  danger,  and  on  November  twenty-ninth  we  got  under 


176 

weigh  and  proceeded  down  the  straits.  January  third, 
1871  we  were  off  L'Agulhas  Bank  and  caught  eight  fine 
fish,  one  weighing  forty-five  and  another  thirty  pounds. 
We  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  at  nine  thirty  a.m. 
the  next  morning.  Crossed  the  Une  eighty-five  days  from 
Shanghai.  In  6°  north  latitude  we  found  our  main-mast 
very  badly  sprung,  and  I  sent  down  the  royal  and  skysail 
yards,  also  the  main-topgallant  yard.  February  third, 
sent  down  main-topgallant  mast.  On  February  ninth 
we  entered  the  Gulf  and  for  three  days  had  heavy  gales 
with  hail  and  snow.  On  the  thirteenth  we  took  a  pilot 
off  Barnegat  in  a  strong  gale  from  north  and  north  north- 
east, followed  on  the  fifteenth  by  a  heavy  snow  storm. 
A  steam  tug  took  us  in  tow  at  nine  a.m.  and  we  hauled 
alongside  Prentiss'  wharf  at  four  p.m.,  glad  enough  to  be 
at  home  again. 

April  26,  1871,  I  sailed  again  for  Hong  Kong,  making 
the  passage  without  incident  in  one  hundred  and  three 
days  and  twelve  hours,  arriving  on  August  seventh,  1871 
in  Hong  Kong,  where  I  found  orders  to  proceed  to  Shang- 
hai. After  discharging  our  freight,  we  left  on  August 
eighteenth  and  with  light  winds  proceeded  on  our  way. 
On  the  seventh  day  out  we  took  a  pilot  from  cutter  No. 
2  and  at  seven  p.m.  came  to  anchor  off  Gutzlaff  Island; 
at  five  a.m.  got  under  weigh,  at  noon  came  to  anchor; 
at  four  thirty  p.m.  the  steamer  Samson  took  us  in  tow; 
at  eight  p.m.  we  anchored  at  Woosung,  and  on  the  morning 
after,  we  proceeded  to  Shanghai,  hauling  alongside  of 
Oliphant's  wharf  at  three  p.m.  This  taking  a  pilot  out 
of  a  cutter  and  being  towed  into  port  by  a  steamer  was 
something  new  in  my  experience  and  it  made  the  passage 
of  the  Yang-tse  very  much  easier.  And  then  to  haul 
alongside  of  a  wharf  was  equally  new  in  a  Chinese  port. 


177 

But  being  close  to  tlie  land  was  not  so  pleasant,  for  the 
men  went  ashore  just  when  they  pleased  and  it  was  hard 
to  keep  them  at  work.  However,  we  were  not  long  in 
Shanghai  and  as  soon  as  the  cargo  was  out  we  hauled  out 
to  our  moorings  in  the  river. 

We  had  been  in  Shanghai  a  little  over  a  month,  when 
we  were  loaded  for  New  York  and  on  the  fifth  of  October 
we  were  towed  down  the  river,  discharging  the  pilot  on 
the  sixth  at  eight  thirty  a.m.  At  noon,  when  abreast  of 
Chesung  Island,  the  weather  became  very  threatening, 
barometer  being  quite  low;  but  the  wind  was  fair  and  I 
hoped  to  get  ahead  of  a  typhoon,  if  there  was  one.  On 
the  seventh  the  wind  blew  a  gale  with  a  very  heavy  sea 
and  at  one  p.m.  a  sea  struck  the  port  quarter,  carrying 
away  a  quarter  boat  and  doing  other  damage.  The  heavy 
gale  lasted  all  day  and  continued  on  the  eighth.  We  were 
scudding  under  close-reefed  fore  and  main-topsails.  At 
seven  a.m.  of  the  ninth  there  was  a  furious  hurricane. 
We  lay  the  ship  to  under  bare  poles;  at  noon,  the  wind 
moderating,  made  sail  and  proceeded  down  the  China 
Sea.  With  hght  winds  and  cloudy  weather  and  calms 
we  had  a  long  passage  to  Anjer,  being  twenty-eight  days 
before  passing  Java  Head.  With  moderate  breezes  across 
the  Indian  Ocean  we  passed  Cape  of  Good  Hope  sixty 
days  from  Shanghai  and  had  moderate  trades  and  beautiful 
weather  from  the  Cape  to  the  equator,  with  no  incident 
worthy  of  mention ;  very  light  northeast  trades  and  baffling 
winds  to  Cape  Hatteras,  where  we  struck  winter  weather, 
and  had  hard  gales  with  snow,  rain  and  hail  for  four  days, 
and  then  light  winds,  and  then  a  southerly  gale  with  heavy 
rain,  which  carried  us  to  Barnegat,  where  we  took  a  pilot 
from  boat  No.  10,  reaching  New  York  January  twentieth, 
1872,  after  a  passage  of  one  hundred  and  seven  days. 


178 

After  a  two  months'  stay  at  home,  on  the  twenty-first 
of  March,  1872,  I  again  sailed  in  the  N.  B.  Palmer  for 
Shanghai,  with  a  most  combustible  cargo,  coal,  lumber 
kerosene  oil,  cotton  goods  and  tar  and  pitch  in  the  forehold. 
I  often  wondered,  if  we  were  struck  by  lightning,  how  long 
it  would  take  for  the  ship  to  be  destroyed !  However,  my 
thoughts  did  not  dwell  on  any  such  catastrophe,  especially 
on  the  day  of  sailing.  On  that  day  it  was  very  cold,  ther- 
mometer only  twenty  degrees  above  zero,  and  a  brisk 
breeze  blowing,  with  snow  squalls,  which  on  the  third 
day  out  increased  to  a  heavy  gale.  We  soon  left  the  cold 
behind  us,  but  it  blew  heavily  for  some  days,  and  we  made 
good  progress,  crossing  the  equator  in  twenty-four  days 
from  New  York.  I  shall  not  go  into  details,  as  a  voyage 
at  sea  is  monotonous  to  teil  about,  though  exciting  to 
live  through.  One  who  loves  the  saihng  of  a  ship  is  always 
watching  for  the  wind  to  blow,  and  the  wind  is  never  in 
the  same  quarter  for  any  length  of  time,  and  the  sails  have 
to  be  trimmed  very  often  and  the  yards  braced  forwards 
or  squared,  to  catch  the  veering  winds.  In  the  trade  winds 
from  Cape  of  Good  Hope  you  can  nm  for  weeks  without 
altering  the  yards,  in  which  time  you  can  trice  up  all  the 
running  rigging  clear  of  the  rails,  tar  down  all  the  standing 
rigging,  scrape  and  oil  the  masts,  paint  the  ship  inside  and 
out,  holystone  and  oil  the  decks  and  have  her  all  ready  to 
go  into  port  in  good  shape;  but  in  the  variable  winds  you 
must  have  everything  ready  for  bad  weather  at  any  time. 

June  seventeenth  we  anchored  in  Anjer  Roads,  eighty- 
eight  days  from  New  York,  took  in  the  usual  supply  of 
chickens,  ducks,  green  turtles,  fruit,  vegetables  and  fresh 
water;  and  sailed  on  the  eighteenth,  proceeding  with  light 
winds  up  the  China  Sea.  After  passing  the  Natunas 
Islands,  we  had  moderate  southwest  monsoon  with  cloudy. 


170 

rainy  weather.  July  sixth  we  took  a  pilot  off  East  Saddle 
Island,  one  hundred  and  six  days  from  New  York;  ar- 
rived in  Shanghai  on  the  eighth,  and  moored  ship  off  the 
factories,  or  American  hong. 

The  prospect  for  an  early  departure  for  home  was  not 
encouraging.  There  were  many  ships  in  port  which  had 
been  there  for  some  time.  I  however,  passed  the  time 
away  very  pleasantly,  living  mostly  at  Smith,  Archer  & 
Co.'s  house.  But  it  was  very  tedious  waiting  for  a  cargo, 
as  it  was  not  till  the  nineteenth  of  October  that  we  finished 
loading,  after  three  months  and  eleven  days  in  port. 

At  one  A.M.  we  left  the  pilot  off  the  bar  and  proceeded 
to  sea.  At  five  p.m.  passed  the  Saddle  Islands  with  fine 
breeze  from  the  northwest  and  in  the  short  passage  of 
seventy-two  hours  hove  to  off  Pedro  Blanco  and  sent 
letter  by  pilot  to  Hong  Kong.  After  starting  so  finely  I 
looked  for  a  short  passage  to  Anjer.  We  carried  the  wind 
to  6°  north  latitude,  then  experienced  fight  winds  and 
calms  with  heavy  squalls,  and  did  not  reach  Anjer  till  the 
tenth  of  November,  twenty  three  days  from  Shanghai. 
Passed  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  sixty-three  days ;  crossed 
the  line  in  eighty-five  days  and  took  a  pilot  February 
third,  1873,  one  hundred  and  eight  days  from  Shanghai. 

After  the  cargo  was  discharged  my  brothers  concluded 
to  sell  the  ship.  My  mother  had  died  before  I  got  home 
and  as  I  was  tired  of  being  away  from  my  family  ten 
months  or  a  year  and  at  home  only  some  six  weeks,  1 
gave  up  the  sea.  Mr.  Nairn,  my  chief  mate,  took  com- 
mand, for  which  I  was  very  thankful,  for  he  had  served 
me  faithfully  for  five  years  and  deserved  the  place. 


i 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


*W  1  7  1955 


Form  L9-50m-7, '54 (5990)444 


tmvfi 


eARY 


J 


A  A      000  154  343    8 


m 


'4m 

|^(.^.V^•  I  iCi 


.'  h: 


■?'' ■'^, 


fS; 


■V;/Af. 


•?/<;. 


:f#'^a*/-'V-^<',"^>i 


i'i^: 


'I'll!',*      '    "." 


